The Power That's Inside
by aloejazz
Summary: Human civilization in the Pokemon world is built on stolen lives. After Ash's retirement from training, Pikachu is chosen to lead a rebellion, but she doesn't know where to begin. Taking Takeshi Shudo's idea for a Pokemon rebellion and running with it. Eventual Krazyshipping, brief Palletshipping, unrequited Pokeshipping. Team Rocket occasionally breaks the fourth wall.
1. Disclosure

"Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" Ash's voice was strained.

" _Again?"_ She listened anyway.

"Iron tail!"

The former Indigo League Champion was being challenged by yet another Hiker with a team of impossibly leveled Golems. Now, Pikachu and Ash had spent three years in and out of Victory Road, going nowhere. Ash had finally worked his way up to the championship over a decade, but now it seemed that he had—well, he had plateaued.

"Had enough, son?"

"Double team!" Pikachu shook her head. "Okay. Return. Go Wartortle!"

Wartortle emerged in a beam of red light. _"My turn."_

"Hyro pump! Then, return."

" _Really—?"_ Wartortle was cut off as he dematerialized into red light again, back into a Pokeball.

"Now, Pikachu, use thunderbolt!"

The Golem was knocked out in one hit. Ash sighed.

The hiker put a few coins in Ash's hand. "Here ya go. See ya 'round."

Ash nodded in thanks. After the Hiker was out of earshot, he glanced at Pikachu. "This is getting a little repetitive, isn't it." He wasn't asking a question; he was stating a fact.

"Chaaa..." She yawned.

"How about we go back to Pallet, huh? Take a quick break. Get a breather" Ash took his hat off, and fumbled with it. "I just need to get out of this cave."

" _Me too_." Pikachu hopped on his shoulder while Ash opened his backpack and tugged an Escape Rope, which transported them to a nearby PokeCenter.

/

Mr. Mime acted as if he had never been gone, as if he was still ten years old, but Delia was surprised to see her son when he showed up in Pallet Town.

"Hey Mom, I'm back."

"Hi honey, is everything okay? Did you finish Victory Road?"

Ash had thought about how he'd phrase this question the whole length of his hike back to his old hometown. He'd lost sleep, thinking of how all the times he'd asked this question before, turning over and over in his sleeping bag. He knew he couldn't continue trudging through Victory Road without knowing this one thing. And now, in the moment, he had lost the lengthy speech had had mentally prepared. "Mom, I need to know what happened to Dad."

"You know he's out there training to become the Champion." Delia said this musically, the same way she'd answered all his reiterations of this question over the years.

"I should have run into him by now." Ash looked to the floor and shrugged. "I need to know."

Pikachu glanced at Ash and then Delia, watching her composed face waver. "Ash, I—"

"Mom, just tell me the truth. Everything. I've got the time. Plenty."

"He really is training to become the Champion."

"Mom!"

"He just—" Delia continued, closing her eyes. "He just isn't, um, very good at it." A too-long silence hovered over the three as Mr. Mime washed dishes in the kitchen, oblivious to the conversation. Delia composed herself. "His dream was to become Champion with a team of Gyrados. The last time I spoke with him, he was hanging around Cinnabar."

"A team of Gyrados?"

"He always felt attached to them."

"No. Can I see that picture of him again?"

"Of course." Delia rose, rummaging through a drawer. She presented the photograph, which was bent and worn.

"I did run into him..."

"You did!?"

"...The trainer with six Magikarp..."

"I told you he wasn't that good at it..."

"But why didn't he recognize me? I mean, I didn't recognize him, but I wouldn't have expected him there. I wouldn't have expected him to have six splashing Magikarp! I ended that battle in minutes..."

"Honey-"

"He should have known who I was! And how could you go this long without telling me what he was up to? How?"

"Ash, he's so embarrassed. We didn't want to disappoint you." She swallowed. "I didn't want to disappoint you."

"And that's an excuse for not having a father!"

"He abandoned me too, Ash." Delia stiffened. "He left me alone with a failing restaurant...and a newborn."

"You could have gotten a divorce! You could have told me the truth. A long time ago."

"You know the law. It wasn't—and isn't—possible. We've never had the money for the fines. But your father knows better than to come into this house again."

Ash sank into the couch. "I can't believe it. I really can't."

Pikachu reached a paw out to Ash's lap.

He looked away. "This whole time, I thought that—that even though I messed up a lot, things were fine at with you and Dad. That it was okay."

"Oh Ash—"

"I'm going to go outside for a little bit."

/

Pikachu brought a bottle of ketchup to Ash, who was sprawled out on the lawn.

He gestured towards a passing cloud. "I know I'm stubborn, but am I that stubborn, Pikachu? Could I be holding on to this stupid dream even if, even if—?"

"Pikapi, _you never give up, but it's a good thing. I mean, I've never met your dad, but.._."

"I mean, I'm not that great. A lot of what I've accomplished has been luck."

" _You've improved a lot_. _And, hey, you saved the world when you were a kid._ "

"And what am I gonna do? Go back to Victory Road? I know you don't like grinding, Pikachu, and I don't either. I'll end up just like him, like the fishermen who stay in one spot forever, like one of the Hikers who keep training Golems for decades."

Pikachu plopped beside him and stared at the sky, not knowing what to say.

/

They hung around Pallet for a week, with Ash increasingly becoming withdrawn. They were in the tall grass on the northern side of town when Ash started wiping tears from his eyes.

"Pikachu, I'm releasing you..."

"Pika!"

"Of course we're still friends, but I'm not going to be a trainer anymore. Look at all the older trainers. Do you want me to be like that? Only kids can make it work, and they eventually move on to something else."

"Pikapi—"

"It's not fair to you. You never liked Pokeballs, so now you don't have to be bound to one." He clicked a few buttons on Dexter 3.1, and Wartortle, Venusaur, and Charizard appeared in red beams of light, confused by a lightheaded sensation they hadn't felt since they were first caught. "Guys, we're having a team meeting."

Charizard yawned. _"Now?"_ He looked around. _"Here?"_

Wartortle whispered to Pikachu, _"What's going on?"_

 _"I have no idea."_ Her tail sank.

"You guys know how hard the last few years have been. I decided it's not fair to you to keep working so hard if we're just going to get stuck like everybody else. You're released."

" _What!"_ Wartortle's jaw dropped. Charizard, for once, was speechless.

"You can keep hanging out with me if you want, or you can stay with Professor Oak and the Tauros and Kingler, or you can go on your own journeys. Whatever you decide is fine." Ash looked at each of them in turn, trying to ignore the growing lump in his throat. "I love you."


	2. We Choose You, Pikachu!

A year passed, and Pikachu spent most of her time with Ash. The others went their own ways: Wartortle back to his old squad, Venusaur to the Hidden Village, and, well, Charizard didn't say where he was going. Ash worked many odd jobs: he helped the elderly with their chores, did yardwork, moved furniture, and occasionally ran errands for Professor Oak. He might not have been the sharpest Skarmory in the flock, but he was strong.

When Ash was busy, she made the hike up to Viridian Forest to train on the Metapod there using quick attacks. She didn't hurt them, but she needed a way to stay on top of her accuracy. She'd thunderbolt tree stumps, experimenting with her power levels. And, if she was absolutely sure no one was around, she'd erupt into a powerful thunder attack to remind herself that she could feel like the sky.

Today was a Viridian Forest day for Pikachu, as Ash had busied himself taking orders for his next run to the PokeMart in Viridian City. She was eating some berries when she saw a spot of blue among all the green. It was Wartortle, and he was wearing a new pair of sunglasses.

Wartortle removed the aviators before he addressed Pikachu. " _Long time, no see_."

" _How's the squad?_ "

" _Ah, you know. They're way ahead of me. Bunch of Blastoise._ " He winked. " _But I'm still the leader!"_

" _They didn't forget you!_ "

" _Of course not!_ "

" _So what brings you here? Now? Shouldn't you be out there having fun?_ "

" _You don't know?_ "

A rustle in the bushes. Team Rocket often trailed Pikachu on her ventures into Viridian Forest, attempting to capitalize on her freedom, but a swift iron tail sent them blasting. They still followed her, having no other pressing assignments, and they eternally hoped for an opening.

Jessie nudged Meowth in the ribs – hard. "What are they saying?"

"Shhh." Meowth squinted. "I'll tell ya in a minute. I gotta feeling dis is important to the plot."

Wartortle perched on a rock. " _You don't know. You ever hear of infinity energy?_ "

" _No? Is it like electricity?_ "

" _Yes...and no..._ " Wartortle sighed.

" _And there's other energy there too, like, like life energy._ "

" _Sure._ " Pikachu laughed. " _I guess. I mean I don't really consider myself that spiritual, if that's what you're getting at. Your friends religious?_ "

Wartortle pinched a spot between his eyes and lowered his head. " _No, no, I mean there is actually another type of energy in Pokemon. Like, you have what makes you you, and I have what makes me me._ "

" _A soul?_ "

" _Yeah, kinda like that. Okay, so we all have 'souls,' and they're really powerful. And Pokemon are disappearing._ "

" _Pokemon are always disappearing, Wartortle. Team Rocket, biker gangs, your regular forgetful trainer who leaves Pokeballs in the woods...Where are you going with this?_ "

" _Infinity energy is Pokemon._ "

" _And?_ "

" _And Pokemon are being used, used like batteries._ "

" _What? I thought infinity energy was like a soul._ "

" _Yeah. And humans are using Pokemon souls like electricity. Actually, they're using Pokemon souls for electricity._ "

" _Is this-is this some kind of joke, Wartortle? Are you so bored you just thought, 'Hey, I know what will pass the time! I'll prank Pikachu, and my buddies will see how cool I am!' That's so messed up. I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight, and I'm going to bug you so much about it._ " Her cheeks sparked in annoyance.

" _Pikachu, I wouldn't joke about something like that_."

" _So you're into conspiracy theories then?_ "

" _You know I'm not that type. I'm completely serious._ "

Pikachu studied Wartortle's face. The frown. The tired eyes. " _You're serious, huh._ " She frowned, and her heart leapt in fear. " _So what do we do now? Run? We could go to Johto, or if we're really desperate, all the way to Hoenn._ "

" _It's happening everywhere..._ "

" _So! So what do we do? Fight back?_ "

" _Well, yeah. Look, I'm well connected here in Kanto, Pikachu, and a lot of us have been talking. Word's been spreading. And anybody who's heard of you, well, they're impressed. You're the real deal. And we want you to lead us._ "

" _What!?_ "

" _We want you to lead the fight._ "

" _What would I do? Who would I go after? This is a lot to take in, you know. I'm not even fully evolved._ "

" _That's your own choice, Pikachu, and everybody knows that. You're more powerful than any Raichu anyway."_ He stood back up. _"We'll figure this out one step at a time. Right now, we have to play it by ear. But, Pikachu, you get electricity. You get it, like no one else has. But if we're talking about energy, we need you. You're an expert battler, and you understand electricity from the inside out. Who else is going to take this on?_ "

" _There's really nobody else?_ "

" _There's nobody but you._ "

" _I mean, I'll help you out, but I'm not going to make any promises._ " Pikachu kicked herself. Why couldn't she just ignore this? Was soul-electricity even a real thing? Was she dreaming? Wartortle's whole story was so absurd, but there was something fraught in his face. " _I have to go tell Ash. I mean, I can't really tell him so he understands, but I have to let him know I need to leave. Meet me here tomorrow morning._ "

Meowth stepped backwards, wide-eyed. "It's not true. Jessie, James, tell me dat's not what we steal for!"

James gently reminded him. "We don't know what you're talking about, Meowth."

"In case you forgot, we don't speak Pokemon." Jessie knelt forward. "What was all that about? It sounded serious."

"Right, right, I'm sorry. It's just so wrong, what dey were saying." Meowth shivered. He started relaying the concept of infinity energy to his teammates.


	3. At the Speed of Light

**A/N: 10/3/15 - fixed a plot hole**

* * *

"That's ridiculous." Jessie huffed.

James concentrated on the ground.

"So den where does your electricity come from? You gotta know that."

Jessie threw up her hands. "Water dams. Coal. Oil. Windmills."

James, not looking away from the ground, muttered. "There hasn't been coal or oil for decades now, Jessie."

"Okay, so—water dams, windmills." Jessie rolled her eyes. "Solar panels. Nuclear fission."

"But what powers those? They all need energy to run, and it has to come from somewhere."

"Coal…" Jessie trailed off. "That's what…that's what we were taught in school."

Meowth kicked a pebble. "So ya had an outdated book."

"But the initial energy…I actually don't know." James sighed. "I'm sure it's nothing, Meowth. But if it will make you feel better, I'll look up the records to where all the stolen Pokemon are sent."

"I don't mean to be unreasonable. But eavesdropping on dat…it kicks you in da gut."

Jessie bumped the cat on the shoulder. "I get it. Reminds me of a bad movie I saw where everybody's favorite snack ended up to be people. Had nightmares for a long time about that. Thinking about that stuff just makes you queasy."

"Let's head back to base. We'll look up the delivery records for the stolen Pokemon so we can all get a good night's sleep."

/

Ash didn't protest when Pikachu said her goodbyes. He figured she was leaving for an important reason, or else Pikachu wouldn't have given such an impassioned, though unintelligible, speech. When he offered to go with her, she refused.

"Pikapi-" She made an "X" with her arms. He had to stay behind. He wouldn't understand, and having a human travel with her and Wartortle would make them more conspicuous. They'd be challenged to Pokemon battles, or they'd be asked to help with random stranger's quests. He would just slow them down.

She gave him a hug, and Wartortle flashed a peace sign.

"You'll be back, right?"

"Pika!"

" _C'mon._ _We have to find Charizard."_ Wartortle pushed his sunglasses up his face. _"I already sent a message to Venusaur. He and a few others will be joining up with us in Cerulean. We'll plan there. For now, let's just take it by ear."_

" _Sure."_ Pikachu didn't feel like much of a leader.

/

Team Rocket's field base wasn't much to look at. Cinder blocks with white paint peeling, a cement floor. James started up his old, boxy laptop while Jessie drummed her fingers on the desk. Meowth, hands wringing behind his back, paced.

"Here they are." A few windows popped up on James's screen. "Let's just look at the last one."

A high-leveled Houndoom was sent to the Viridian Gym. Dozens of Pokemon were sent to casinos around the world. Hundreds for field agents. Jessie pointed to a data set.

"Look! Butch and Cassidy got a Sharpedo."

"Dat's not important, Jessie."

James scrolled down. A few dozen, mostly Rattata, were sent to Silph Co. And then a few more hundred Pokemon, mostly low-level normal and bug-types, were also sent to Silph Co., but the address listed was in Lavender Town.

Jessie leaned towards the screen. "I thought Team Rocket was out of Silph Co."

"Apparently not." James steepled his fingers, his eyes staring at the screen.

"And since when has Silph Co. had a branch in Lavender? You would think everybody would know about that."

Meowth didn't like where this was going. He didn't like the punch to his gut when Wartortle proposed the source of infinity energy, he didn't like that it made sense, and he didn't like that he wasn't waking up from this strange dream that, in his mind, must have been fueled by riceballs and eclairs.

James continued scrolling down the entries. "Some of the weaker Pokemon were always sent to Silph Co. to test Pokeballs, potions, TMs, who knows what else…but this…this is a lot."

Meowth wanted to say something, but he lost the words around the lump in his throat.

"But when did it start becoming this ridiculous? I know we're out of the loop, but something had to have changed." Jessie grabbed the laptop from James. "The numbers were nothing like that a few years ago, as far as I know." She kept going back. Some Pokemon were always sent to Silph Co.'s Lavender Branch but not in the hundreds like in the recent records. The jump happened that last January.

"So what happened in January?" James sat back. "Pull up the news from then…"

Jessie furrowed her brow as she scanned the _Kanto Today_ summary for January. "Here. At the very end." She turned the screen around to face James and Meowth. " 'After years of transition, the last functioning nuclear power plants around the world have been decommissioned. Professor Catalpa, of Silph Co., notes that a renewable energy source called infinity energy is much more powerful and much safer for the public than nuclear energy.' "

Meowth squinted at the tiny print. "Dey really tried to hide dat, huh." He turned his back to Jessie and James. "And Team Rocket's a part of it."

James grimaced. "As far as I knew, we were just in the business of stealing patents, operating casinos, and running a sham gym. Not murder."

Jessie examined James's uniform, then her own. She stood up, striking a pose. "Prepare for trouble."

James stood. "Make it double."

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of…lies…and hate…"

"To keep our—no, their—reach from the stars above."

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket must be stopped at the speed of light—"

"We quit now and prepare to fight."

There was a silence in the small room. Meowth was lost in his memory of being Top Cat—was he even Top Cat at all before Persian came along? Or was he just grateful to have food and a place to stay? His heart still twinged when he thought of Giovanni. He remembered the scratches under his chin, the glow of being shown off to the grunts…and then he remembered being assigned to field work when Persian came along. For years, he had convinced himself that Giovanni loved him, but he had come to realize that to the Mafioso, he was just a walking, talking novelty. Why didn't Giovanni cart him off with the Rattata and Pidgey to die? Did he care? He didn't. So what had gotten him to field work?

Jessie and James had shown him kindness, even though he was rude to his "underlings" at first. For all the grief Meowth put them through at the beginning, they never "forgot" to feed him, and they always listened to what he was saying.

"Meowth?"

He wiped away a tear. "Jessie? James? How in da world did I end up wit you guys? How did I get so lucky?"

Jessie and James looked to each other, eyebrows raised.

"You don't know? I thought somebody told you, which is why you thought you were our boss for so long."

Jessie scruffed the fur around Meowth's coin. "We asked for you, duh. We thought it'd be cool to be partnered with a talking Pokemon."

"I hope it was…"

"It is."

"I need to know…What woulda happened to me if ya didn't speak up?"

Their mouths dropped, and their eyes lowered.

"I'm a low-level normal type…"

"You were…oh, no…you were going to be sent out with the Pidgey and Rattata…" James covered his mouth.

For years Meowth thought he had gotten himself out of that jam, though he figured his fate was to be a Pokeball tester or casino prize, not to have the life sucked out of him in a power plant. He had sent applications to every department in Team Rocket and had assumed that his skills led him to field work. He was the only Pokemon who could talk, after all! But now, the memories of him job hunting were accompanied by the low buzz of a paper shredder as he walked out of each office he had applied to. He had thought it was a coincidence, that paper shredders buzzed a lot in HR. Now, after so much time, he realized Team Rocket had never taken him seriously. That is, except for Jessie and James. He kicked himself for his ego when he was first assigned to the two grunts.

"Jessie…James…" Meowth sat down. "I owe you one."


	4. Meowth's Decision

**Note: Sorry for the delay, guys. The action's going to pick up a lot after this chapter, so I hope you're excited!**

* * *

" _There is no way I'm going to give Meowth a phone call!"_

/

Meowth adjusted his Hawaiian-print shirt before sipping on a ginger soda in an overpriced souvenir volcano-shaped mug. Self-exile on Cinnabar Island wasn't too bad. The former Rocket team made out like bandits in the Celadon casino by strategically placing Meowth behind the dealer. Jessie, wearing a mustache, had done the "gambling" while James, in a sequined red dress, served as a distraction. Before they could get eighty-sixed from the joint, they hightailed it to the Cinnabar Pokemon Center, where their winnings could cover them for deluxe room and board for a year—a home base while the three figured out their next move against infinite energy.

A deluxe room came with perks. Like a private videophone, which was no longer visible because Jessie had used it as a drying rack. This wasn't a problem, as they weren't expecting any calls, until Meowth noticed that James's shorts were ringing.

"Yo Jess, James, should I answer dis?"

Jessie walked over and cleared the screen from assorted laundry with a grand gesture. "Huh."

James frowned. "It's the twerp's Pikachu."

"Dat weirdo. I'll answer it." Meowth sighed and clumsily pressed the green button marked RECEIVE.

" _Meowth?"_ Pikachu gave a nervous chuckle and placed his right paw behind his head. "I, uh, need a favor—"

"How in da hell did you get this number!"

" _What? You're not exactly lying low…Tell me, how many talking Meowth are there? And the shirt? You had to go with the crazy colors? Come on."_

"Ugh. Good thing James debugged the room...and the phone."

James smirked. "You're welcome."

" _You were wired?"_

Meowth rolled his eyes. "Team Rocket wires everything, Pikachu. Now, anyway, I don't want to you to dink we stopped going after you for some personal reason. It was for oder reasons."

" _I…uh…didn't notice you were gone?"_

"Den why are you calling?"

Pikachu took a deep breath. " _Okay. So. There's this thing called—"_

"We already know."

" _What?"_

"We were dere dat day when your friend went all Pokemon: Soylent Green Version on ya." Meowth gestured to Jessie and James, who stood behind him. "We were still trying to catch you. You'd fill our level quota for a year. But what Squirtle said hit someding inside of me, so we looked some stuff up."

" _And…"_

"And…hey, what videophone are you using? Is anybody listening in?"

" _Huh? We're in Venusaur's human friend's house. There's nobody but us here."_ Pikachu tilted the monitor to show Wartortle, Venusaur, and Charizard.

"All right, just needed to make sure."

" _What did you find out?"_

Meowth, fumbling with the collar of his shirt, looked away from his screen and to his human partners. "She's asking what we found out when we looked into—"

Jessie took a deep gulp. "We found out that…a lot of Pokemon who were stolen…" She lowered her voice. "They ended up going to a facility in Lavender Town, a Silph Co. branch, for 'research'."

"So we quit Team Rocket," James added.

Meowth regained his composure. "So." He put both paws on the table. "What do you want? I'm guessing you're not being a goody two-shoes, dat you're not warning me about the dangers of being a low-level normal type." He reclined in the chair. "I bet, after all dese years trying to get you to Rocket HQ, you wish I was battery juice."

Roaring laughter came from the phone. A large orange face—Charizard's—filled the screen. _"She totally does!"_

A yellow blur pushed Charizard offscreen. " _You're not helping!_ "

"Hey, water under da bridge. Heh, like da time you wished I would sleep wid the Tentacool on da St. Anne. I know, I know." Meowth raised a brow. "So what do you want, Pikachu?"

" _Meowth, I—no, we—_ " Pikachu gestured to the group behind her. _"—We need you to talk to humans and tell them the truth about infinity energy._ "

"…You want me to go door-to-door or someding? I'm not da missionary type." He crossed his arms. "Look, we're already making plans of our own here."

" _So what are you going to do?"_

"Uh, we're working on it…"

" _That's what I thought. Well, we have a plan, but it needs you to work."_ Pikachu sighed. " _If you really want to do right by Pokemon, by everybody, meet us in Viridian forest 7:00 a.m. Sunday. No later."_ She reached to disconnect the call, but paused. " _Thanks."_

Venusaur broke the silence. "Do you think he'll come?"


	5. An Appeal

Pikachu hated waking up early, and she hated waiting. " _It's 7:00 a.m., right?"_ Human time was so exact it was unnatural—difficult to follow, but at least it was universal. The light was right, and the sounds were right for early morning. Venusaur used a vine to point to a small figure ducking under a low tree branch.

" _So he did come, after all."_ Wartortle crossed his arms.

" _Yeah, good."_ Pikachu shook her head a bit to stay awake. _"We're over here, Meowth!"_

"You coulda picked a more accessible location, ya know."

" _You didn't bring Team Rocket, right? Nobody followed you?"_ Pikachu peered behind him.

"Okay, one, we're not Team Rocket no more. Two, it's just me."

Charizard started walking, calling back, _"Let's just do it, already!"_

"Do what?"

/

The group of five hiked a few minutes to the TV and radio station just north of Pallet Town.

" _He's entering the building! Let's go!"_ Venusaur used his vines to tap Pikachu's back, urging her forward.

They chased after a man in a white lab coat—Professor Oak—and followed him into the lobby.

Professor Oak, hearing footsteps behind him, turned around. "Oh, hello there! Venusaur, Charizard, Wartortle—I didn't know you were back in town." He crouched down to Meowth's level? "And who's this? Looks like that Team Rocket's Meowth who's on all the wanted posters…"

Meowth took a breath and opened his mouth, but a searing shock to his shoulder stopped him before he could get any sound out.

" _Don't say anything in human yet."_

"Uh, Meeee-owth!" He sat on the ground and licked his paw, hoping to cement the act.

"Aw, you must not be him, though! Now, did you all want to see 'Pokemon Talk' live?"

"Pika-pika!" Pikachu nodded.

"Well, follow me," the professor chuckled. "I bet Ash is sleeping in today."

They followed Professor Oak into the studio. Charizard ducked under the light fixtures, muttering, " _This better be worth it._ "

A woman, DJ Mary, took her seat on the set. Professor Oak combed his hair, checked it in a mirror, and then sat down next to her.

" _Meowth, stay close to me."_ Pikachu ran up to the set on all fours and tugged on Professor Oak's pant leg.

"Oh, would you like to be a special guest on today's show? And you too, Meowth?"

Pikachu nodded. She glanced at Meowth and whispered, " _When it's time, just repeat everything I say, except in human."_

Meowth opened his mouth to make a snide remark—oh, of course he was only useful to them as a translator—but decided against blowing their cover. He squinted against the blinding lights to see Charizard, Venusaur, and Wartortle sitting behind the cameraman. Wartortle flashed a thumbs up.

A voice from an intercom spoke: "We are live in three, two, one…"

"Hello! And welcome to 'Pokemon Talk' with Professor Samuel Oak and me, DJ Mary. We also have special guests today: Pikachu and Meowth! What's 'Pokemon Talk' without Pokemon, right? Well, today's topic of conversation is the migration of Jumpluff among several regions." DJ Mary's voice was sing-song and bright. She smiled at the camera.

Professor Oak nodded. "That's right, Mary. The movement of Jumpluff often correlates to allergy season, so if you sniffle around this time every summer, you may want to pay close attention. Now, the Jumpluff move with wind currents, and this can be predicted by the Weather Institute in Hoenn—"

"Piii—" Pikachu grabbed the tiny microphone taped to Professor Oak's chin.

"Pikachu, what are you doing? Give that back. Sorry folks, it looks like we're having some technical issues here…"

" _Now."_ Pikachu held the microphone between herself and Meowth. She took a deep breath, recalling the speech she had repeated in her mind so many times: "Pi, Pikachu pi pika pi chu—"

Meowth gulped. Translating on the spot for Jessie and James was hard enough, but to do so with such high stakes in front of a television audience truly flustered him. "Hello, we would like ta address both Pokemon and humans about an, uh, issue dat concerns us all—"

"It _is_ the Team Rocket Meowth! Get him off the show! Turn him in!" Professor Oak lurched to take the microphone back, but before he could do so, Venusaur's vine whip had his arms bound.

/

Ash poured some cereal and milk for breakfast and joined his mother on the couch.

"You're up pretty early, Ash! It's a few minutes after the hour, but I think we can still catch 'Pokemon Talk,' if you'd like." Delia turned on the television.

"I'd like that." As a child, Ash had watched the show religiously. And while he had given up on Pokemon training, he still enjoyed the culture built around the sport. The scientific jargon was often over his head, but he appreciated trying to learn something new about his favorite creatures.

The show was chaos. Professor Oak was tied down by Venusaur and inaudibly screaming. DJ Mary sat very still with a panicked expression, and Meowth was translating for Pikachu into what used to be Professor Oak's microphone.

Ash stood up.

"Chu, pikachu pipika chuu—"

"Pokemon around da world are being used for your energy. Electricity all over the world is, uh, supplemented by infinity energy, which is…it comes from our…bioenergy. It comes from our very lives."

Delia stiffened. "This isn't right…"

"I don't know what they're doing or what they're talking about, but Pikachu needs me!" Ash put on his frayed baseball cap. He ran out the door, not planning on stopping until he reached his best friend.

/

Professor Oak continued shouting and struggling against Venusaur. "They're not supposed to know! They're not supposed to know! Get them to stop! Mary, do something! Code Bitter Berry!"

"—We ask you to put a stop to dis. Whether a Pokemon is a powerful battler or a common, low-level normal type, no one should be used and thrown away like an object…" Meowth looked over at the raving researcher and hesitated.

Wartortle gestured for him to go on. _"You have his microphone, Meowth. They can't hear him."_

"And so we, representing all da Pokemon of da world, beg humankind to put an end—"

"Mary! Snap out of it! Say, 'Code Bitter Berry!'"

DJ Mary swiveled in her chair, still taking in the scene. "The Meowth can talk?"

"Yes, yes, it's a long story, but just say, 'Code Bitter Berry!'"

"Code Bitter Berry?"

There was a clicking sound that echoed through the studio. The lights, one by one, turned off.

"—to infinity energy once and for…What happened to da lights? What's da deal?"

Pikachu looked to Professor Oak, who was calmly smiling now. _"He knew!? Professor Oak knew!? This whole time!"_ Her whole body tensed with static.

"You can release me now, Venusaur." Professor Oak waited. "Now, now, Pikachu, you're a Pokemon, of course you wouldn't understand…"

" _Don't release him yet."_

"It's about the greater good. Don't you see how the good from infinity energy outweighs the bad?"

" _Like murder! What outweighs that?"_

"She says it's murder, and I says it's murder too." Meowth took a step towards the professor.

"It's not murder…you see, Pokemon aren't people, so—"

Meowth drew out his claws. "We're not people, so it doesn't matter! Did ya hear dat? I can't believe dis guy."

Pikachu's fur bristled. Professor Oak, the man who had adopted her from the forest, who had cared for her, who had given her to Ash…he didn't see her as a person, as _her_. She closed her eyes, trying her best to ignore the twisting, sinking feeling in her gut. " _Venusaur—please, just—just stun spore him for now."_

DJ Mary looked to her now-incapacitated co-host and put her hands up. "Please don't hurt me!"

Charizard stood in front of her, blocking her exit. " _What about her?"_

Pikachu shrugged. _"Let her go. She doesn't have anything to do with this."_

Mary ran to the glass doors, only to find they were locked. She started ramming into them.

Wartortle made his way to the doors, trying to calm the woman down. After failing to open the doors as well, he called across the room, " _We're locked in!"_

" _Move!"_ Charizard shot a flamethrower at the doors, blasting them off their hinges. Mary flailed and made her way to the lobby.

"I did not sign up for dis!"

Wartortle motioned for the others to follow him. Venusaur released a recovering Professor Oak, and prodded Meowth forward. Charizard, after a moment of thought, decided to set a camera on fire for good measure. Oak hobbled towards the entrance.

Pikachu froze. It shouldn't have happened like this. They were supposed to give the speech, and humans would stop using infinity energy, and it would be over. She centered herself, feeling the lack of electricity in the wiring system.

" _What Professor Oak told DJ Mary to say…it must have shut off the power and put the whole building on lockdown."_ She ran, catching up with the rest of the group. _"I don't think we'll be able to get out how we got in."_

" _Thank you, Captain Obvious."_ Wartortle had his face pressed against a window. Outside, multiple Officers Jenny and their Arcanines were outfitted in SWAT gear.

"Release the hostages!" One Officer Jenny held a black megaphone.

"We didn't take dem as hostages!" Meowth pounded on the glass. "We're all locked in!"

" _They can't hear you."_ Venusaur backed up. _"I'm going to dig our way out of here."_

" _Before that—"_ Pikachu looked to Charizard. _"Fire blast this door first. Let them out."_

" _Even our 'old friend'?"_

Pikachu tried to hide her growing bitterness. " _Yeah, let him go."_ It was the right thing to do, and hopefully this would let the Officers Jenny know that they didn't want to hurt anybody.

/

Ash weaved his way through the growing crowd in front of the station.

"Young man, this is a hostage situation!"

"That's my Pikachu!"

"That Pikachu is not registered with any trainer."

"I released her last year."

"Then you have no relationship with her."

"That's not true!"

He stood on his toes to see over the mob: Charizard stood in a fighting stance behind the glass. He sprinted towards the doors.

"Stop! You're under arrest!"

Under the cover of a moderately-controlled fire blast, Ash managed to enter the building as Professor Oak and Mary escaped.

"Pikapi!"

"Pikachu, what was all that about?"

"We'll tell you later twerp, right now we gots to make our exit." Meowth pulled Ash's wrist and led him towards Venusaur's tunnel.


	6. Friendships Never End

After the group was sure they weren't being pursued, Pikachu, Wartortle, and Meowth had taken on the task of filling Ash in on where infinity energy came from. Venusaur was silent, exhausted, and Charizard had concentrated on lighting the way.

"Pikachu—I…I had no idea." Ash curled in on himself, hovering closer to the flame on Charizard's tail.

Meowth sprawled on the ground with his head resting on a rock. He sighed. "Dat's not all, twerp. Looks like youse an enemy of da state too, now."

Venusaur opened one eye. " _Whaddya mean by that?"_

Another sigh. "It's obviously not _just_ Team Rocket at play here." The cat stared at the ceiling of Venusaur's tunnel, resisting the urge to swat at the dangling roots. He held up his paw. "Three words, a thousand Jennies."

" _Even Professor Oak knew…"_ Pikachu iron tailed the floor in anger.

" _Take it easy, pipsqueak."_ Charizard lowered his head to her level.

"Professor Oak?" Ash scratched his head. He had seen the professor escaping the station. "How does he know?"

" _I don't know, but he thinks it's 'for the greater good,'"_ Pikachu spat.

"I don't think I've ever seen you this angry." Ash blinked, then continued, "I mean, of course you're angry. I'm angry too. This whole—thing—is just very wrong."

" _Let's just sleep."_ Venusaur yawned, " _We'll emerge between Cerulean and Mount Moon tomorrow."_

/

"YOU ARE AN IDIOT!"

"Misty, I—"

"Oh, 'Mr. Let's Retire and Disappear Off the Face of the Earth and Then Show Up Again as Public Enemy No.1', tell me why you thought it was a good idea to have the exact Pokemon matching the ones on the wanted posters steal from the busiest diner in the city."

"We were—"

"You are so lucky I was there. So lucky. You now owe me my bike, two dozen sandwiches, this delicious breakfast, and your freaking life!"

"So you know about the TV station?"

"Do I know about the TV station! Every channel, every radio station has been repeating your 'crimes' for the past twenty-four hours! Every video of Pikachu and Meowth's little speech has been scrubbed! I had to watch it in the basement of a bicycle shop! In disguise!"

"So you know about infinity energy?"

Misty sat back. "I don't know what I know anymore, Ash."

/

Jessie and James had been creeping their way up north ever since seeing Meowth and Pikachu taking over Professor Oak's show. Their disguises, for whatever reason, still worked and drew no suspicion. To Jessie's chagrin, most of the friendliness directed towards them on their passage through populated areas had been assisted by James's revealing dress.

When they passed Giovanni's gym in Viridian City, Jessie stopped. She wanted to march in there so desperately, but she also knew doing so would be a death wish. These costumes had fooled the twerps and the general populace for over a decade, but it would be too risky to mess with Giovanni.

James turned around, now a significant distance ahead of his partner. "Is everything alright?"

"I need to do…something."

"Jessie—"

"No, you're right." She started walking forward. "Now's not the time."

By the time they had reached Pewter City, they ran into one of the former twerps, the gym leader turned breeder, Brock.

"Hello, miss!" Brock ran over to James. "Do you need any assistance? Directions, perhaps?"

Jessie cleared her throat. "Actually, tw-sir, we could use some help finding someone."

"Anything for a lovely lady and her…companion!"

"Have you seen a Meowth that walks on two legs?" James leaned closer to Brock.

"…Like on the poster…" Brock backed away, and he pulled off Jessie's false moustache, still squinting.

"What's the big idea!" She covered her face.

"I thought you looked familiar!" Brock smiled. "Team Rocket!"

"No longer affiliated with them. I guess it's time to finally retire these disguises, huh." James looked down dejectedly at his dress. "Of course it would be one of the twerps to finally figure it out."

"You should know," Brock continued, "you're on those posters too."

"What!?" Jessie panicked. "I didn't even know there were wanted posters!"

Brock raised his hands. "Calm down. I'm actually on your side for once. I saw what Meowth and Pikachu did, and they wouldn't do that if what they were talking about wasn't true."

James nodded. "It is true."

"Doesn't surprise me, actually. I've seen things." Brock face grew stern as he mumbled, "…Ivy." He shrugged. "Well, I don't know where Meowth is, but I figure he's with Ash and his Pokemon. And I know someone who might have a better idea of where Ash is."

/

" _Okay. Run it by me again, because I don't get it."_ Psyduck was uncomfortable using his psychic powers, especially across long distances.

Pikachu wanted Psyduck to transmit messages to wild Pokemon across Kanto to ask for their support. " _So can you transmit a message, or not?"_

Psyduck burst out laughing. " _I can't do anything like that except give other Pokemon my headache for a few minutes!"_

" _So it's a no."_ Pikachu rested her head on her paw.

Wartortle paddled around them—he was making the most of the moats installed in Misty's gym. " _What about the Mr. Mime living at Delia's? He's psychic, right?"_

" _He's…not reliable."_ Pikachu's ears perked up. _"Hide. There's someone at the door."_

Ash scrunched behind the gym leader's podium as Wartortle dove underwater. Charizard flew up into the rafters, and Venusaur hid behind a potted plant. Pikachu and Meowth ran into a supply closet.

"Stop shocking me!" Meowth backed into a broom handle.

" _It's just static, calm down."_ Pikachu shuffled closer to the line of light outlining the door frame. _"And shut up, Misty's opening the door."_

Misty opened the door a crack. "Gym's closed! Come by later!"

"Hi Misty." Brock sheepishly waved.

"Oh! Come in! Hurry!"

"And there's these two." Brock pushed Jessie and James inside and slipped in behind them.

"Jessie? James? You got ol-mature. Mature! Ha!" Misty stammered.

Jessie rolled her eyes as James retorted, "Well, it's not like anybody can stay ten years old for twenty years."

There was a crash as Pikachu and Meowth tumbled out of the closet, mops and brooms behind them.

" _We're supposed to be hiding!"_

"Well dat's what happens when you shock me!"

" _It was just static!"_

Meowth stood up, brushed himself off, and froze. "Jessie! James!" He ran over to his teammates. "How'd you guys find us?"

Jessie and James beamed as they hugged Brock. "This twerp!"

"Get off of me." Brock crossed his arms. "I guess you found Ash and company, Misty. Where is he?"

Ash popped up behind the stadium, and Charizard, Wartortle, and Venusaur emerged as well.

Misty marched back to Ash and dragged him forward by the ear. "This retiree decided to send his high-profile Pokemon out for breakfast at the Exeggcute Diner!"

"Yeah, yeah, I was wrong, you were right. I know." Ash grinned. "Hi Brock!"

"Hi yourself. What have you gotten yourself into?"

Jessie interrupted, "Fighting for lives of Pokemon."

"But what are you going to do?" Brock leaned against a wall.

James examined his fingernails. "We need to head to Lavender Town. The infinity energy plant is headquartered—"

Glass shattered. Officer Jenny rappelled down from the broken skylight. "You are harboring fugitives! Turn yourselves in!"

Misty palmed a Pokeball. "Gyrados! Thrash!" The water serpent complied, hiding them in the resulting chaos. "We have got to go now!"

" _I can fit, like, three people tops,"_ Charizard grumbled as Ash, Brock, Jessie, James and Wartortle squished onto his back. " _Watch the tail, Wartortle."_

"Togekiss! Help the rest of us out!" Misty climbed onto the Pokemon's back. "Gyrados! Psyduck! Return!" Togekiss used her claws to grasp Meowth and Pikachu.

Meowth squirmed. "Watch it! I am not a vending machine toy!"

Ash called to a green blur still on the tiled floor of the gym. "Venusaur!"

Venusaur had realized that he was too big to be carried by either Charizard or Tokegiss and was no longer bound by a Pokeball. Concentrating, he aimed at the ground, releasing a solar beam that propelled him upwards. He hit Officer Jenny, sending her flying.

Jessie tilted her head towards James. "Hey, we're not the ones blasting off this time."

Quickly falling, he released two vines, one wrapping around Charizard and the other around Togekiss.

Charizard grunted from the additional weight. _"You're fat, Venusaur."_

" _Tell me something I don't know."_ Suspended between the two flying-types, Venusaur looked down to see a mass of motorcycles and police cars following them. _"They're following us!"_

Ash furrowed his brows. He shouted, "Wartortle! Use bubblebeam to create a mist around us. And Venusaur, reinforce your vines, then use solar beam again to propel us forward! As much as you can!"

As Wartortle's mist shrouded the unusual formation, Venusaur released as many solar beams as he could, jerking everyone.

James wailed. "We are blasting off again!"


	7. A New HQ

Ash noticed the bruises developing on his arms. "So this is what it feels like to get 'blasted off.'"

"Welcome to our world." Jessie ran her fingers through her hair to remove debris.

"Venusaur, Charizard: I'm so proud of you." Tears welled up in Ash's eyes. He gestured to a preening Togekiss. "You too. You all saved us back there." Pikachu hopped up onto his shoulder.

Misty stood up. "They did, but they couldn't have done it without you, Ash." She stroked Togekiss. "I get why you quit—I wish I could—but you underestimate yourself."

Brock laid out a map. "We can talk about Ash's talents later. Right now, we need cover. Rock Tunnel is just east of us, and it's pretty close to Lavender Town."

" _But we still haven't done anything."_ Pikachu rested her chin on Ash's baseball cap.

" _We can't do anything if we're caught."_ Wartortle looked behind them. _"We have to make another plan."_

The group walked silently to the entrance of Rock Tunnel. Charizard used his tail to illuminate their surroundings.

"I hate Zubats." James preemptively shielded his head.

Jessie rolled her eyes as she patted him on the back. "I'm sure they feel the same way about you." She stretched. "Why can't you quit being a gym leader, Misty? We quit Team Rocket."

"It's not like that." She ducked as she entered the cave. "Once a gym rat, always a gym rat."

"A gym is a governmental organization, and when someone agrees to operate them, their families must continue to do so. It's passed down every generation," Brock explained. "That's why I couldn't travel and start breeding Pokemon until my dad came back to take over our gym."

"But what if you just leave anyway? We left, and we're on da run, but it ain't too bad." Meowth quickened his pace to keep up with the long-legged humans.

"Team Rocket members generally have nothing to lose…that's why they end up in Team Rocket." Misty stopped in her tracks. "If a family member breaches the contract, there's an enormous fine, and it's impossible to pay, so everything you own is seized. Then, it's added to your record so you can't find alternative work. Your whole family ends up in complete poverty. My sisters put in their time while I traveled, and since I'm the youngest, I'm stuck with the gym from now on."

Jessie frowned. "That sucks."

A Zubat swooped down low. Brock dodged. "That's not even the half of it. There's the bribes!"

Misty swatted away another Zubat. "Oh, the bribes!"

Meowth was briefly grateful for his short height as he watched the humans get swarmed by Zubats and the occasional Golbat. "Bribes? Dat's my kinda business."

Brock laughed. "Not exactly. We often have to bribe trainers to let us win. If our ratios get too low, we lose our status as a 'gym leader,' and we have to pay that same impossible fine anyway."

"It's just necessary to keep your head over water. Every gym leader does it." Misty smiled at the cat, then called out to Ash and his former Pokemon, who were quite a bit ahead of the group. "Ash! Wait up! We can't see without Charizard close to us."

"These things keep biting me!"

"You were in Victory Road for three years, Ash. Deal with it." Misty shook her head.

They quickly caught up to Ash, who had stopped in a large, cathedral-like space. Wobbuffet emerged in a red flash from Jessie's belt.

"Thanks for showing up to the party. Return." Jessie smirked. "At least he didn't come out while we were riding Charizard."

James spoke up. "I think we should stay here." He pointed to three tunnels that continued from the space. "There's multiple exits. And it's rare for trainers to set foot in here. It'll just be us and the flying, blood-sucking vampires."

"Crobat's one of my best friends, you know," Brock replied.

James put his hands up. "I meant no offense!"

"Steelix! Come on out!" The metallic snake curled around them all. "It's time for some interior decorating! Can you flatten the ground, and make some furniture out of the rocks? I'm looking for tables, chairs, and makeshift beds!"

With a single whack of her tail, Steelix smoothed the floor till it shone like marble. And with another whack, clean, modern-looking formations rose, easily identifiable as a group of tables, chairs, and rock-solid beds.

Ash's jaw dropped. "Impressive."

Brock beamed. "She's always had a good eye." He turned to look at his oldest Pokemon, then released the rest from his belt: Golem, Ninetails, and Crobat. "You guys know what's going on, don't you? I have to release you. If something happens to me, I don't want you in the wrong hands." He sniffed. "You're free from your Pokeballs. You're welcome to stay with us, and since nobody saw you come with us, you can come and go as you please." He stretched his arms out to hug them. "Spread the word, and be safe."

Misty fingered her belt of Pokeballs and sighed. "It is the right thing to do," she said to no one in particular. Jessie and James looked to their Pokeballs as well.

Pikachu gripped Ash's shoulder tighter as she watched the Pokemon being released. While she didn't like the dark confines of a Pokeball, most did. Professor Oak—his name came with an icy jab in her chest—told her it simulated the womb. She nuzzled Ash's neck for comfort while she surveyed the scene in front of her: Misty scruffing Psyduck's feathers, James being swallowed by Victreebel, and Jessie kissing Wobbuffet's forehead.

Meowth was missing from the scene. She directed a question towards Jessie and James, though they couldn't understand her. _"What about Meowth?"_

The scratch cat in question was perched on one of Steelix's new rock-chairs, making himself small. "What about me?"

" _Aren't they going to release you too?"_

"I'm not deir Pokemon."

" _You've been wild this whole time? No wonder you're never in a Pokeball."_

"No, I hate Pokeballs, just like you. I'm Giovanni's, technically." His voice shook, though he tried to cover it with a cough.

With the mention of Giovanni's name, James turned and faced his friend. "We'll find a way to release you. We just need to find your Pokeball."

Ash frowned. "I don't mean to be dense, but why do Pokeballs matter so much to you guys now? I released Pikachu, Wartortle, Charizard, and Venusaur for the principle of it. So they could be completely free." His voice lowered. "If they weren't free, I wasn't free. But if you're still trainers, if you're still battling, why would you worry about your Pokemon falling into the wrong hands?" He scratched the back of his head. "Couldn't they just run away? Fight for themselves?"

Misty gawked. "Did you sleep through Pokemon 101? Figures."

Jessie pressed her palms together. "Exposition time!" She prodded her partner forward. "Take it away, James!"

James cleared his throat and posed in front of the cavern wall. "When a Pokemon is caught by a Pokeball, matter transforms into energy. That is why even the largest Snorlax can fit inside a retractable Pokeball. Pokemon bioenergy is very powerful—this is where the infinity energy concept comes from." Blank stares met his face. "So, in order for a Pokemon to become a Pokebattery, they have to be in their energy state. This can only be accomplished when a Pokemon is inside a Pokeball. If a Pokemon is caught, all someone has to do is press the return button, and they're stuck inside the Pokeball against their will. But, if the Pokemon is wild, like ours are now, they can put up a fight when tries to catch them."

Ash gave a small golf clap. "Thanks."

"Now that's over with, we need a plan." Misty, arms akimbo, hovered over Ash.

Brock rummaged through his backpack. "We need supplies, but we can't buy them since our accounts are probably frozen."

"Are you saying we need to steal things?" James cocked his head.

"…Yes." Brock raised an eyebrow.

In unison, Jessie and James cried, "On it!"

"I'll join you guys to make sure you don't get carried away. And you need to change your clothes. Wear something…less attention-grabbing." Brock turned to Ash, Misty, and all the Pokemon. "But there's still the larger issue at hand."

Ash leaned on the table. "Me and Pikachu will free the Pokemon from the research facility—"

"—It's a Silph. Co Branch," James added.

"Okay. We'll go there and break them out without attracting attention."

"I'm coming too." Meowth stood up and looked Pikachu in the eyes. "Some of dem are in dere cause of me, and I gotta help get dem out. Plus, you're gonna need a lockpick." He extended one shining claw.

" _We'll do it together, then."_ Pikachu nodded.

" _What about us? What can we do?"_ Wartortle gestured to himself, Charizard, Venusaur, and the small mob around them.

Misty, lost in thought and not even hearing Wartortle's question, looked to the Pokemon. "We also need to get as many trainers as possible to release their Pokemon."

Venusaur gave an approximation of a "thumbs-up" with a vine. _"And that's what we'll do."_


	8. The Divide

Everyone in the cavern failed in their attempt to sleep peacefully that night, anxious about the plans that were to take place. Brock, fed up with waking up every half hour with his heart pounding in his ears, checked his watch. A faint green glow on his wrist read 5:08 A.M. He scanned the darkness to find a pair of round, brown eyes staring back at him.

" _You're up, too."_ Pikachu scratched behind her ears. " _We might as well get started. Get this over with."_

"Hi Pikachu." He stood up, stepping over his friends, noticing how Misty had gradually rolled over closer to Ash over the course of a few hours. "Anybody else up?" He reached into his pack, pulling out three granola bars, a can of baked beans, a bruised apple, and a pack of Pokefeed. "I have some food for breakfast…a lot, though."

"Nnnghhghghgh." Ash flopped over only to be met by a spark from Pikachu. "Pikachu, I'm up! I'm up!"

Misty, looking over Brock's offerings, put her head in her hands. "We might be better off getting food on the outside."

Brock, Jessie, and James headed out first, with the former Rockets now wearing black turtlenecks and jeans.

Jessie lagged behind to hug Wobbuffet before she left. "Please protect this place."

Misty's eyes lit up. "Psyduck, I have a special job for you!"

"Psy?"

"You know Wobbuffet. Stay with him and protect our new place, okay? Confuse anybody who comes close."

"Psy!"

She then knelt down on the ground, surrounded by a motley crew of Pokemon: Corsola, Starmie, Togekiss, Charizard, Wartortle, Venusaur, Steelix, Crobat, and Victreebel. "Find a buddy. There's an odd number of you, so, Charizard, you're my buddy. You're gonna need some supervision for this one." The water trainer stood back up. "Go to people's houses. Knock on their doors. Convince them to release their Pokemon. If you're having trouble, find Charizard and me. We'll be sticking to homes near the PokeCenter."

Realizing her iconic ponytail was still in place, she removed the elastic and let her hair fall down. Misty found a wrinkled nylon jacket and a baseball cap at the bottom of her bag. "I hope this works."

Wartortle flashed her a smile and winked behind his sunglasses. _"We got this."_

Pikachu surveyed the cavern for her best friend, only to find him back in his sleeping bag. _"Ash?"_

"Nnghgh."

"He freakin' fell back asleep, Pikachu." Meowth rolled his eyes.

A spark later, Ash was jumping around. "I'm up!"

"It's our turn to skedaddle, twerp." Meowth stood on his tiptoes and pointed to Ash's hat. "You gotta lose da hat. And da jacket."

"Yeah. I guess so."

" _Let's go."_

The three made their way towards Lavender Town in a zig-zagging path. Staying in the brush, twigs snagged at them. Pikachu kept her ears flat against her head.

Meowth noticed the fierce determination on the faces of Ash and Pikachu. He felt like he was missing a piece of the equation. How did they know where to go? He worked some courage and asked, "So, uh, how are we gonna find dis facility?"

Pikachu's expression softened. _"This is weird, but hear me out. Ash has this Pokemon sense. It's like he can read the presence—the aura—of others. I guess he can feel Pokemon bioenergy, if we're going to use that word."_

Meowth stopped himself from laughing when he realized Pikachu's sincerity. "Huh. You're serious. Dey could make a feature-length film outta dat."

Ash grimaced, then spoke, "There's a bunch of Pokemon in a small spot to the west of Lavender Town. And then there's…nothing. There's a place with a lot of energy, and then there's a tiny place with no energy, and they're right next to each other." His hands balled into fists. "There's a lot of pain there. Fear."

" _That must be it."_ Pikachu steeled herself for what she might see in the coming hours.

/

Brock hunched over to catch his breath. He hated his role as a runner for Jessie and James. He had jogged back and forth in the tall grass between the Lavender PokeMart and Rock Tunnel four times in a span of three hours, dragging pounds of food, clothing, medicine, water, batteries, and other sundries behind him while hiding from any onlookers. And if that wasn't enough, he had to dodge a confusion attack by Psyduck on his first run. It took ten minutes to convince the psychic bird that he was a friend, not a foe, that they knew each other for over a decade.

He regained his composure and loitered near the back entrance of PokeMart. The heavy door opened.

Jessie, with a surprising amount of strength, pulled Brock inside. "We've cleaned their entire stockroom out. We have to go before the shopkeeper notices."

James put his finger on his chin. "How busy is it on Route 10?"

"People are out and about now. It's going be hard to get back." Brock put his hands in his pockets, a nervous habit.

"As I thought." James peered into the storefront. "Okay. You need to distract the shopkeeper while Jessie and I find the secret passageway. If you hear clicking and knocking on the wall, follow the sounds."

"…Wait. A secret passageway?"

Jessie flicked Brock on his forehead. "Duh! Every government building is connected in some way. Team Rocket loves using these. The Rocket-controlled casino in Celadon had a huge underground system."

James nodded. "We can use the passageway to pop up in a service entrance at the PokeCenter near the cavern. Keep the shopkeeper occupied while we find the switch."

"How—" Before Brock could get a word in, Jessie and James were pressing their hands on the posters in the store. "I don't understand what—"

"Can I help you? I didn't see you come in." The shopkeeper, a heavy man with an illegible nametag, chuckled to himself.

"Huh? Oh! Yes!" Brock closed his eyes as his mind raced. "I'm a breeder, and I need the absolute best Pokefeed for a ground/rock type."

"Well what you want is one of the specialty feeds for dual-types. They're in aisle eight."

Brock struggled to feign interest. "I've heard that you can buy dual-type feed, but wouldn't it be the same if I bought a rock type feed and a ground type feed and then mixed it together? It'd be cheaper."

The shopkeeper sighed. "You're a tough costumer, huh." He raised his fingers to his forehead in a mock salute. "I respect you for it, though. You've got a good head. The thing is, dual-types aren't just half one type and half the other—" He turned his head as there was a click and a knocking sound.

The hair on Brock's neck stood up. "That sound—Probably just the pipes, huh? Okay, well, I'll go home and do my research, and I'll come back tomorrow to buy either the single-type feeds or the dual-type feed. Thank you very much!" His words ran into each other as he rushed towards the back left corner of the store.

"Sir, the door is—" The shopkeeper circled around to find that his customer had disappeared. A wave of recognition showed on his face as he focused on the wanted poster on the store's door. He hesitated for a moment before pressing the panic button underneath the cash register.

Brock entered the narrow opening in the wall. The gap slammed shut behind him. He found himself in a brightly lit hallway built with concrete bricks painted white. Jessie and James were a few steps ahead of him, gesturing wildly.

"Move it, Rocky!"

"Okay, okay. But tell me, what in the world was going on with the posters?"

Jessie snorted and flipped her hair. "Secret switches are always under posters, twerp." Her smirk faded as an alarm sounded.

James whispered one word: "Run." He let Jessie and Brock pass him, then punched an unmarked control switch. A wall panel slammed down from the ceiling, blocking the store's secret entrance, and another wall panel shot up, opening another hallway that went west instead of north..

Brock looked behind to James, who was pressing another switch, as Jessie bolted around the corner. "Guess we're taking the long way."

/

By noon, Wartortle and Venusaur had already convinced trainers to free thirty-nine Pokemon. The others trailed behind in numbers, but they were still successful overall. Any Pokemon not tied to a Pokeball was a victory. New, ubiquitous "helpful" public service announcements littered the city. Posters and short videos urged trainers not to release their Pokemon but to turn them in to a PokeCenter or the police station instead. All the trainers she talked to so far, Misty found, were suspicious of these new ads and believed her story.

Misty's buddy system worked pretty well, for the most part. Whenever one of the teams was having trouble, Misty and Charizard would be called in.

This time, Corsola and Togekiss were asking for help for the fourth time that day. The two Pokemon were sweet, too timid to clearly deliver the unsettling facts to other Pokemon, and if they managed to do so partially, they became outright fearful of the humans.

Misty patted Togekiss on the head. "Okay guys, we'll take it from here."

Charizard led the way to the offending door. Misty knocked, and an older woman answered.

"What do you want?"

"Do you own—have—any Pokemon?"

"…Are you trying to sell me something?" She eyed Charizard and raised an eyebrow.

"No."

"Then what are you here for?"

"We're here to discuss, uh, your opinions on the new public service announcements."

"Come in, then, I guess." The woman opened the door wide, and Charizard ducked as he walked across the threshold.

"So you work for the government, I suppose? Well I for one think the new ads are wonderful. No Pokemon should be abandoned. Would you like something to drink?"

"Oh! No, thank you. I absolutely agree with you. But I'm coming from a different angle. I'm not from the government, I'm just, uh, a volunteer. I care about Pokemon a lot."

Charizard supported this statement by nodding.

"So you're knocking on every door to…talk?"

"Pretty much. So, um—"

"—Cecilia."

"Cecilia, a Togekiss and Corsola visited you earlier?"

"Just ten minutes ago."

"They were trying to tell your Pokemon something."

"Ah, yes, they were chirping away with my Sandshrew."

"They want you—I want you—to release your Pokemon, for their own well-being."

"That's ridiculous! I would never abandon my Pokemon!"

"I'm not asking you to do that."

Charizard huffed. _"This is going to take forever."_

"It's against the law!"

"If a Pokeball is 'donated' to the police station or PokeCenter, the Pokemon dies, Cecilia." Misty looked her in the eye. "They're used for electrical power. A Pokemon's energy is used for electricity. This can only happen if a Pokemon is inside a Pokeball. That's why I'm asking you to release your Pokemon."

Cecilia stood up. "But I love Sandshrew."

"And you still can, but Sandshrew needs to be able to fight a Pokeball, and he can't do that if he's already attached to one and can be recalled. Sandshrew can still stay with you."

Cecilia's voice rose in both pitch and volume. "What are you trying to do? You're talking crazy talk! I'll call the police!"

Charizard blocked the woman from grabbing Misty's arm. Misty, with a steady but strained tone, said, "It's not necessary ma'am, I'll leave."

But Cecilia already had the phone in her hand. "There is an intruder in my house! Yes. Twenties, about five feet tall, red hair, has a Charizard..."

Misty ran as fast as she could towards the door, knocking over a few items of furniture. By the time she had reached the street, Officer Jenny was pulling up in a motorcycle.

"Waterflower! You are under arrest!"

Wartortle, Venusaur, and the others noticed the commotion and congregated around Misty.

Venusaur stomped the ground in a mixture of anxiety and frustration. In doing so, he performed his first earthquake attack. Eyes bulging in surprise, he wrapped his friends in vines, pulling them into the earth.

Wartortle wiped the dust off his sunglasses. _"You're the best getaway Pokemon anyone could ask for."_

" _Between this, the dig escape, and what I did with the solarbeams, you owe me. I get first claim of snacks when we get back to Rock Tunnel"_ Venusaur beamed.

Misty knelt on the floor and gaped at Venusaur. She sputtered, "What? How? How did you? You're a grass type? Poison? What? I know Ash taught you to dig, but…but this?"

Venusaur thoroughly enjoyed being the center of attention. " _My grandmother was a Nidoqueen."_

Wartortle gave a single nod. _"Sounds legit."_

Steelix and Charizard had gotten tangled in the chaos. As Charizard guarded his tail, Steelix worked to free herself and knocked one of the protrusions on her back into a rock formation. More dust fell, and a smooth, white block was uncovered.

"Weird." Misty stood up to examine it.

Charizard was still trying to free his leg from Steelix. Flapping his wings, he pushed himself against the block, which shifted under his weight. A hallway opened, filled with blinding light.

Misty squinted as she made her way forward, and Crobat, dazzled—blind as a bat, flew into several obstacles as the small crowd made their way into the sterile-looking underground structure. The entrance slid shut with a click.

/

Ash, Pikachu, and Meowth hid behind the trees encircling the nondescript building.

"Dere's a door, but no windows. I'll pick da lock." Meowth hugged the walls as he made his way toward the entrance. He relaxed when he noticed two signs: one read, "Silph Co.: Lavender Branch," and the other, handwritten, read "Closed for lunch. Back in one hour or so."

" _Did you open it?"_

"Dere's nobody here!" Meowth made quick work of the lock. "And we're in."

Ash crouched and slid through the doorway as Pikachu ran on all fours. A receptionist's desk in the entryway looked unused; Ash was doubtful that this facility had many visitors. Meowth picked a lock on the next door, and they silently walked through a room filled with computers and servers.

"They're to the left." Ash's eyes were closed, and he shuffled towards another locked door.

Meowth pulled out his favored claw again. "Looks like I'm gonna break a nail at dis rate."

Pikachu's heart was ready to burst. There was so much electricity in that room. She watched Meowth work, focusing on the skilled motions of his hand to keep from crying out. The door, heavier than the others, opened.

A loud hum vibrated through their bones. The source of the hum, a sprawling machine that resembled the healing machine in PokeCenters, separated two bins of Pokeballs.

Ash rushed to the left bin. "We can save these ones…the others…" He frantically scooped out Pokeballs and started releasing Pokemon. Pidgeys, Rattatas, Spearows, Meowths, Sandshrews, Weedles: dozens materialized from flashes of light.

Pikachu shouted. " _Run away from here! Do not let anyone capture you!"_

Out of curiosity, Meowth opened one of the Pokeballs from the other bin, which was labeled, "For PokeMart Redistribution." The Pokeball was empty but with dark, claw-like singe marks on the inside. His stomach twisted in knots and he dropped the Pokeball, frozen in recognition. Pikachu crawled over and opened another empty Pokeball. More black marks. She gagged.

Ash still frantically released Pokemon from the other bin. His forehead gleamed with sweat. "Pikachu! Meowth! Snap out of it! Help the ones you can."

Pikachu pulled Meowth's paw back to the other bin, and they shook as they released more Pokemon.

Meowth released a Diglett, an Aipom, and a Raticate in quick succession and shouted, "Get outta dis place! Run!"

Pikachu focused on the electricity within every Pokemon she released. She looked each of them in the eyes as they emerged, gesturing them towards the door.

Ash was a Pokemon-releasing machine. His arms flew as he released Pokemon after Pokemon, untiring.

Most of the Pokemon freed fled right away, but a Spearow lingered. Pikachu flashed back to her first encounter with Spearow and felt a blurry, painful sort of nostalgia. _"What's wrong?"_

" _Are you that Pikachu?"_

" _What?"_

" _The Pikachu everyone's talking about? The Pikachu who's going to stop the kidnappings?"_

Pikachu took a step backwards, bumping into Meowth, who was still freeing Pokemon and pointing them towards an escape route. _"I guess…um, sure?"_

" _Thank you."_ The Spearow chirped and flew through the open doors.

"Pikachu! Dat was touching an' all, but we need your help!" Meowth tossed her several Pokeballs. "We don't know when deir lunch break ends. Dey could be back any—"

"Hello," a singsong voice belonging to a man in a white lab coat interrupted Meowth.

"—minute…" Meowth ran away the best he could on two legs, Pokeballs still in his hands.

Pikachu instinctually shocked the scientist to stun him. She then sent a thunderbolt at the ominous machine, hoping that the damage to the circuits would at least delay the carnage. And, for good measure, she decided to shock every electronic device in that room, which included a previously unnoticed security camera. _"Ash! Take as many as you can!"_ A Pokeball in her mouth, she exited the room, catching up to Meowth.

"Find da basement! Trust me on dis!"

Weighed down by Pokeballs, Ash scrambled to find a set of stairs. "There!" He gestured with his chin towards concrete steps.

Ash and Pikachu rushed past Meowth while the cat was distracted by a poster in the basement that advertised lemonade, soda pop, and bottled water.

" _Meowth! Stop daydreaming and come up with a plan!"_

Meowth smacked the poster, and a wall panel opened, revealing a white hallway. Meowth pushed the two inside and hit another brick, closing the wall panel behind them. He pointed to the ceiling. "Pikachu, see dat black dot? It's anudder security camera. Hit it."

"… _Okay."_ Pikachu disabled the camera with a calculated shock. _"How did you know this was here?"_

He grinned. "Secret switches are always hidden behind posters."


	9. Ditto

Meowth used a wall to support himself while he caught his breath. Three Pokeballs were on the ground by his side.

His arms struggling to hold the Pokeballs he had grabbed in that last-ditch effort, Ash's pace slowed as he picked up the Pokeballs Meowth had dropped.

Pikachu dropped the Pokeball she had been holding in her mouth. She rolled it to Ash with her nose, then sat back on her haunches.

Ash started the work of minimizing each Pokeball to its smallest size and loading them into his pockets. When he had completed this task, slid down the white wall to a sitting position, his knees curled up to his chest. "We didn't get them all."

Still wheezing, Meowth answered, "We saved a lot."

Pikachu laid her paw on Ash's arm. She heard a screeching sound—she quickly recounted if she had missed zapping any security cameras in their escape. Her mental checklist was interrupted when a large purple object hit her in the face.

" _Crobat?"_

"Ash!" Misty appeared around a curve in the hall. She ran up to him, kneeling beside him. "You're stuck down here too! I was worried about you. We've been trying to get back to Rock Tunnel for hours, but this place is so disorienting. We ended up in an abandoned power plant, and then Victreebel tried to eat me…" Her voice trailed off as she noticed Ash wasn't listening. "…What…what happened?"

He emptied some of his pockets to show the Pokeballs. "It's what we thought it was. There were giant bins full of Pokeballs. They must go through hundreds a day." He avoided her eyes. "We saved some, but…"

Pikachu finished his sentence. _"We couldn't catch them all."_

Charizard stretched his neck out, tired of maneuvering around small underground spaces. _"So now what?"_

The yellow mouse stood and craned her head up to look Charizard in the eye. _"We disrupt their whole system."_

Pikachu's intensity was interrupted by a squeak. "Hey, uh, Misty?" Meowth cleared his throat, deepening his voice to hide his nerves. "Did ya disable da safety cameras as ya made your way down here? Dere's tons of dem." He twitched a little.

"Oh! We didn't disable them, but Togekiss used some light screens around us. If it worked right, all the cameras would see is a reflection of the walls." Misty gave Togekiss a thumbs-up, and the flying-type ruffled his feathers in pride.

"Good, good." Meowth relaxed, slumping down to the floor. "I dink I had enough running for one day." He sighed. "Da way back to Rock Tunnel is northwest." He pointed to a hallway behind Venusaur. "We take dat one follow it as long as we can, and we should pop up in a PokeCenter a mile away from the caves."

Venusaur turned around to scope out the hallway. He couldn't see an end to it, and he hesitated to trust a former Rocket's sense of direction.

Before they reached the branching point, Pikachu's ears twitched: there was music. Out of tune, uncoordinated, unintelligible singing grew in volume. Brock appeared with a relieved expression. Jessie and James, behind him, were striking poses as they hummed the theme song to their favorite spy movie.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you." Addressing anyone and everyone, Brock hung his head. "Please, please get me away from these two."

Jessie and James twirled and said, in unison, to the tune of the same theme song, "Don't complain! We punched out the cameras! Follow us! We'll be back in no time! Da da! Duh di dah dah. Duh duh—Dah di daaaah—"

Brock held his head in his hands. There was a tug at his pant legs. Meowth used his paw to hide his mouth as he spoke. "Yo. Just let 'em get a lead of about twenty paces, and you'll hardly be able to hear them. Dey do dis every time we're in da tunnels."

"How do you handle it?"

"I don't." Meowth walked ahead.

Hands in his pockets, Ash concentrated on the Pokeballs he managed to take with him. Where would he release them? Would they just get transferred back to that place again? And, how would Pikachu prevent more Pokemon from being used as infinity energy? Professor Oak knew what was going on, but did Gary know? His face reddened, and Ash couldn't tell if he was feeling anger at Gary's potential knowledge or shame that he cared so much about it.

Pikachu walked beside him, lost in her own thoughts, and she received a light punch on her shoulder. Wartortle.

" _You did good."_

" _I don't want to talk about it."_ Her fur bristled with static.

" _You don't have to."_ Wartortle stretched his arms behind his head.

" _It's one thing to know about it, Wartortle—it's something else to feel it! The electricity in that place…in a lot of places…it doesn't feel any different…but where it comes from…"_ Pikachu paused, realizing that Wartortle hadn't pushed her to talk, but continued anyway. _"I feel dirty every time I notice a lightbulb."_ She pointed to the fluorescent lights above them. _"There. There. And there. Everywhere. I can't ignore it."_

" _I don't know what to say, Pikachu."_

" _And then there's Ash! Here I am, feeling bad about being able to feel the currents, but he's able to feel Pokemon's energy itself. What that room must have felt like for him! And I'm complaining!"_

Wartortle sighed. _"Even leaders need to vent, Pikachu."_

" _And that, too. I'm not a leader. I do what you or Ash or even Meowth says. And I shouldn't be unloading all this on you—"_

Wartortle put his hands up, stopping Pikachu short. _"—Yeah, but leaders do something that's called 'taking advice.'"_ He smiled. _"If people turn to you for help, and you do what you can, that's all it takes."_

" _Thanks for the pep talk."_ Pikachu smiled back when a purple object crossed her line of sight. _"Did you see that?"_

" _See what?"_

Ash, his face still flushed, abruptly stopped in his tracks.

"Are you okay?" Misty was carrying Corsola, who had gotten tired teetering on coral spikes meant for the water.

"There's a bunch of Pokemon…and people…through that wall, but it's almost like they're asleep or something." An image flashed in his mind: the hundreds of Pokeballs he left behind. "We have to help them."

The purple object Pikachu had noticed—was it solid or liquid—started to seep under a seam in the wall. She pointed at it. _"That!"_

Brock rubbed his chin. "Looks like a Ditto to me."

Venusaur extended a vine to poke it, but he was slapped away by Charizard. _"Don't touch it!"_

Misty set Corsola on the ground. "Like this day can get any weirder."

"Jess! Jimmy! Come back here. We got a problem!" Meowth called to the two figures leading the way that, at this distance, looked like two dark lines against a field of white.

"I hope they stopped their 'routine.'" Brock massaged his temples.

Meowth heard this, even though Brock had said it under his breath. "Ditto." He grinned, fangs showing, gesturing wildly to the purple slime. "Did you see what I did? I'm hilarious!"

His pun went unnoticed, and Meowth consoled himself by recalling the saying that true genius was not recognized in its time. He waited for Jessie and James, then pressed a few well-camouflaged buttons to open the panel Ditto was currently sliding under.

Instead of another white hallway, the wall opened to show a dim, cold room, lined with rectangular metal tiles. Ditto made its way inside.

Backing away, James shook his head. "This is what morgues look like on those TV shows."

" _This is boring."_ Charizard used a claw to tap one of the metal panels. A large cylinder shot out, frost and condensation visible on the glass. Intrigued, he used his paw to clear it.

" _What happened to not touching things?"_ Venusaur walked towards Charizard and looked down at the glass. A familiar face met his. _"Nurse Joy!"_ Venusaur jumped and Charizard thrashed, his tail knocking into several other metal tiles and releasing more tubes that contained Nurses Joy and Officers Jenny. Several Ditto emerged from the tiles as well, disturbed.

Looking away, Pikachu reached out and touched another tile. Another cylinder extended into the room. She held her breath and peered through the glass. This one held an Officer Jenny. _"No."_

"Nurse Joy? Officer Jenny? I will rescue you all!" Brock blushed and skipped around the extended tubes. "This is…this is a dream! My dream!"

"You are disgusting." Misty whacked Brock upside the head. "They are clones! Not your girlfriends!"

Ash touched the glass. "We should free them."

"If they're clones, probably not. If they're in these tubes, they're not ready to be released. The process would kill them." James examined the wires that were present at the bottom of a tube. "I thought they only cloned Pokemon."

"Dey did clone Pokemon years and years ago, and Giovanni put the kibosh on dat when one of da clones went nuts and took down a whole lab." As Meowth said this, he felt a tugging at his memory, like he was struggling to remember a dream that related to this fact.

Everyone else in the room also felt their minds searching for a memory that did not exist, but no one said anything, as each thought they were alone in having that feeling.

Jessie, unfazed by the sensation, was staring at an open file cabinet drawer. "So the whole sister act was just that. An act. No wonder I had no chance in nursing school." She reached into the drawer and pulled out two discs and a dog-eared manual.

Pikachu gestured to Jessie's find and whispered to Meowth, _"What do those say?"_

"Jessie, let me see dose." He stood on his toes to reach Jessie's hands. "Dis CD is called 'Programming for Nurse Joy,' and da odda one is 'Programming for Officer Jenny.' Da book here—" Meowth paused to lick his paw and flip open the worn cover. "—is 'Using the DNA-Induced Transformation Type Organism: D. I. T. T. O.'"

Her curiosity piqued, Pikachu attempted to watch the multiple Ditto's movements from the corner of her eye. They didn't seem to react to Meowth's words or anything else, for that matter. She realized the futility of staying in this room: they could not free the Joys and Jennies, and the Ditto didn't seem to care about their intrusion at all. She spoke clearly, " _We need to go. Get started on stopping more Pokemon from being…"_ The rest didn't need to be said—the toll of infinity energy spoke for itself.

Ash didn't budge. He stared at a tube holding an Officer Jenny. "They deserve to be free…"

Eyes downcast, she shook her head. _"They do, but they'll die, Ash."_ She turned to the Ditto and addressed them. _"Ditto, would you like to come with us?"_

There was no visible response from the purple audience. But as Pikachu started making her way towards the tunnel, she looked behind one more time and found a trail of slime. The Ditto were beside her.

As the group left the cloning lab, Ash lingered. He pulled out one of the rescued Pokeballs from his pocket, examined it, and put it back. He joined the others in the now-blindingly bright hallway, careful to avoid slipping on the Ditto.

James closed the wall panel. "We don't have much farther to go."

As they neared their exit, Meowth continued flipping through the manual. "Dis is incredible. Disturbing, wrong, and incredible. Dey give a Ditto to each Joy or Jenny and have it transform into an Arcanine or Chansey. Each Joy or Jenny is 'programmed' to believe da Ditto is da real deal, so dey don't even know dat deir partners are Ditto!" James redirected Meowth by the shoulders to keep the cat—nose in book—from walking into a support column.

Jessie pointed to a disguised door. "That's our exit."

They made their way through the service entrance of the Route 10 PokeCenter undetected, their escape assisted by Togetic's light screen. When they finally emerged outside, dusk was approaching.

"I hope Psyduck's okay." Misty paused, then gave a small smile towards Jessie. "Wobbuffet too!"

Jessie flapped her hand. "Wobbuffet's so tough he's practically a steel-type."

Pikachu, Wartortle, and Venusaur led the way back to Rock Tunnel. As the rest waited for the all-clear, Ash released the Pokemon. He felt lighter after seeing them run off into the woods, noting that it may just be that he had gotten rid of a dozen or so Pokeballs in his pockets. It seemed as if he had picked up their Pokeballs an eternity ago. Meowth watched the Pokemon being released, and he tried to say something, but all that was present in his throat was a lump. He twiddled his paws.

/

Their passage to the cave only took fifteen minutes, but it felt like hours. Wobbuffet and Psyduck met them at the entrance and were intrigued by the Ditto.

The cavern headquarters was no longer dark, as wired construction lights were hung throughout the space.

"Woah." Ash slowly spun around to take in the space's transformation.

Brock beamed. "I know, I know. And, wait until you see the food we got!" He disappeared for a moment, then returned with a display of foam instant noodle cups, freeze-dried berries, and a variety of candies. "There's more."

Jessie scratched her head. "So, you set everything up too?" She then spoke into James's ear, "What an overachiever. No wonder he was complaining so much."

James stifled a laugh, then asked, "So. The generator? Walkie-talkies? Hot water heater? What about all that?"

"It's all here. We have a fully functional bathroom."

" _Man, I miss traveling with this guy."_ Wartortle snuck a handful of Pokefeed from the horde of supplies.

James mouthed, "How?" Brock had stepped away from him, though, to place food on the table.

"Might as well learn as we eat." Misty wove her hand towards Meowth, speaking with her mouth full, "Let's see what's on those CDs."

"You got ya laptop?" James pushed his computer towards Meowth, who fumbled while inserting the disk. It loaded after a few seconds, and the cat tilted the screen so it was visible to those around him. Realizing that Pikachu, and pretty much all Pokemon, were illiterate, he summarized the text aloud, "It's a buncha instructions for how Joys are supposed to act in da PokeCenter. Ding's to do wit abandoned Pokemon…sheesh. 'Put da Pokeball in da marked receptacle.' We all know where dat goes now, I guess."

Pikachu felt that same flash of nausea, but her hunger won out. She continued with her meal.

"Dere's also a bunch of codes. Like da one we heard Oak say! 'Code bitter berry' means 'danger of societal collapse.' Oh! And dis is priceless: 'code miracleberry' resets da clones. Dere's a lot of codes." He switched to the CD concerning the programming of Officer Jennies. "Same ding here. Except da Jennies have a whole ding about weapons, and how much force to use, and stuff like dat. Same codes as da Joys, too." Meowth continued rambling until he had covered the content of the files on both discs. Brock, Venusaur, and Psyduck had started to doze off at the table.

The others went to sleep in a trickle. Pikachu watched the humans perform their nighttime routines and her fellow Pokemon search out the perfect sleeping spot. Wartortle had retreated into his shell, Venusaur had occupied a niche in the cavern wall, Wobbuffet had fallen asleep standing up, and Charizard was snoring so loud that it echoed. Before long, she realized she was the last one awake.

And even though she was exhausted, her mind kept reeling back to the feeling of where that artificial light in the hallway, in Professor Oak's lab, in the PokeCenter, in every building had come from—though, she remembered, thankfully the lights Brock had hung in Rock Tunnel were powered by a pilfered generator, not by a regulated power plant. Pikachu closed her eyes and meditated on the electricity in the room. The signals in everyone's nervous system, heart, brain. She wanted to feel that natural electricity more; she wanted it to drown out the buzzing of hallway lights and TV cameras and the great big hulking machine that ate souls, that ate what Ash could feel.

Meowth was spread out a few feet away from her. She edged closer. She could feel his electricity. His heartbeat. His mind working even as he slept. She could feel it even more if she could just get even closer—

"What are you doin'?" Meowth sat up, meeting the eyes of Pikachu, who had been staring at him, her face only a few inches away from his.

Pikachu jumped back, and words spewed out of her. _"Oh! Ha. I, uh, okay, so you have electricity, right? Everybody does. So the hallways felt so bad, and that room felt so bad, and the electricity in other people feels better so I just wanted to be closer to your heart and brain so I could sleep I'm so sorry this is so embarrassing please understand—"_

"I don't get you electric-types." Meowth sighed. "Go to sleep. It's fine."

Pikachu sank into the ground beside him and edged her cheek to his shoulder. Meowth became very still as he realized her presence was also comforting to him. Was this a fluke? Had she lost it in the tunnels? He didn't dare to move, concentrating on the feeling of her face against his arm. He fell back asleep in minutes.


	10. Earth Rising

The furniture made by Brock's Steelix was, well, hard as a rock. Jessie changed position, avoiding the slimy residue of the Ditto around her, and rested her chin on her hands. It was her shift to watch the news on their stolen TV. The Ditto were enthralled by the blue light and wiggled around it. Jessie had asked Meowth, who had become the de facto head of communications over the last few days, if the Ditto could take over her duty since they enjoyed the news so much. Meowth's response was shrill: "Da Ditto don't tell me anytding 'cept dat jingle from da stupid bread commercial!"

So Jessie watched the news that evening while Pikachu and the rest ran around the cave with walkie-talkies to direct Charizard, Venusaur, Wartortle and some newly recruited Pokemon in the field, who were working day and night to intercept any poaching. Her instructions for the night were clear; she was to report any significant changes in weather, issues involving public utilities, traffic jams, and crime scenes to avoid due to the presence of Jennies. When the "Breaking News" graphic flashed with a beeping tone, Jessie sat up straight.

"Tonight we have a very important announcement." The anchor swiveled her chair and looked directly into the camera. "The prime minister will be stepping down due to health concerns. He has appointed a successor, the Viridian City Gym Leader, Giovanni."

"What!" Jessie jumped up while throwing the remote at the wall. As it hit a stalagmite, a crack echoed throughout Rock Tunnel.

"We now go live to our correspondent in Viridian—"

"James! Meowth!" She ran towards the area that Brock called the "war room," and interrupted a conversation that was taking place between Ash and Misty. "Twerp! Twerpette!"

Misty, caught in the middle of a sentence, tilted her head. "…Yeah?"

"It's bad."

/

"'Health concerns'? More like a poison sting from the boss's Nidoqueen." James flicked a bottlecap into the air and caught it with the same hand.

Brock had crouched down to the TV's level, reading off the scrolling headlines from the bottom of the scene. "Severe wild Pokemon safety concerns: curfew at dusk, no Pokemon outside of their Pokeballs."

Pikachu pressed her head against the table and threw her arms up. _"So Wartortle, Charizard, Venusaur, our recruited Pokemon…"_

"We have to get them back." Ash looked in the direction of Rock Tunnel's entrance.

Pikachu lifted her head at the sound of Ash's voice and nodded.

Brock shushed the room. "Listen."

"—Violation of this curfew will be dealt with by force. Report any sightings of wild Pokemon, unaccompanied Pokemon, or Pokemon outside a Pokeball to your local Officer Jenny.

"Do you know what this means, though?" Misty's eyes lit up. "We've been doing a good job. This curfew wouldn't be happening if our plan to stop the poaching and kidnapping wasn't having an effect." Her expression then soured. "But this does mean our job will be much harder now."

James leaned forward. "It's not just that. If it was just that, we could handle it—we could find a way. The big problem is Giovanni."

"I've beaten him before, and I can beat him again," Ash said.

"You've battled him, but you don't know him." James cast a side-glance at Meowth.

Meowth was examining his paws, drumming them against his legs from nerves. He spoke quietly, "He's not da nicest person. His whole deal was being da boss, gettin' more power, and now he's da most powerful person in da world. So dere's nuttin stopping him. Dere's no reason for him to show any restraint anymore. If he was bad before, he's going to get much worse now."

Pikachu rubbed her temples. _"We should protect ourselves first. We can't do anything if we aren't around. So we have to get—_ "

A fiery blast interrupted her. Charizard's roar echoed from the entrance passage: _"So we're being kept in the dark now? What is going on? We go for a walk in the woods, and then—BAM—there's a SWAT team with nets and Ultra Balls."_ The dragon emerged, showing a few bruises.

Ash shrugged. "We just found out, Charizard."

" _He's just blowing off some steam."_ Wartortle waddled up to Pikachu. _"The recruits are returning, but staggered so they don't attract attention. Venusaur's left a trail of leaves so they don't get lost."_

" _What if someone else finds those leaves?"_

" _Psyduck and Wobbuffet at the entrance."_ Wartortle patted Pikachu on the shoulder. _"They've gotten better at recognizing friend from foe, don't worry."_

" _So now what?"_ Venusaur let himself fall to the ground, making a thump that was felt under everyone's feet.

Pikachu clenched her eyes shut. _"Just let me think…"_

"We know that they get the Pokemon at night, but there's also those bins for abandoned Pokemon, and they operate during the day." Brock rubbed his chin. "We need to get someone to rescue them from the PokeCenters." Ninetales's ears flew upright in the crowd of Pokemon, and the fox wagged her tails in different directions. "Sorry, Ninetales, it should be a human. I have a feeling there's going to be a law that all Pokemon need to be in Pokeballs at all times, not just at night."

Ash slumped. "So we need to work both day and night. We should have done that to begin with, huh."

" _We can still work at night. We just need a different approach."_ Pikachu's face brightened. _"Crobat, you're pretty stealthy, right? And you can use confusion?"_

" _Yeah."_

" _And Arbok, Weezing, you're also good at hiding."_

Weezing coughed out a few words. _"You know it."_

Pikachu stood up. _"So we just have to downsize our nighttime operations. Use only the Pokemon who won't get caught."_ She gestured to Jessie and James. _"And the humans, too."_

"What's she asking us to do?" Jessie asked Meowth.

"She's sayin' dat you're on da nighttime operations since you're good at stealth." Meowth chuckled. "If only she knew!"

The mouse rolled her eyes. _"They're good enough."_

" _But what about the rest of us?"_ Togekiss ruffled her feathers to make herself appear larger.

" _The flying types should take a buddy, go to different cities, and establish operations there."_ Wartortle lightly punched Charizard in the arm. _"I'm coming with you, bucko. We're going to take on Saffron."_

Ash, arms crossed, slumped. "Okay, but what about the Pokemon who've already been taken? Who are already in line to go to that…machine?"

"We'll figure something out, Ash," Misty replied.

/

"Hey kid, wanna adopt a Pokemon for me?" Brock whispered from behind a bush.

A youngster-class trainer jumped. "What?! Who's there?"

"I got a favor for you. If you go into the PokeCenter and adopt as many Pokemon as you can, I'll give you this." Brock opened his vest to reveal an array of junk food.

"…Okay." The kid scratched his head. "I want everything but the potato chips."

"You got it. Thank you."

The trainer ran off towards the Lavender Town PokeCenter, turning back once to give Brock a thumbs-up.

"You are such a creep!" Misty grimaced towards Brock from another bush on the path.

"It worked."

"Yeah, if he's not going to go to a Jenny and tell her a weird man—who matches the description of Brock, a most wanted criminal—harassed him from the bushes."

"I'm good with kids!"

"Whatever you tell yourself—"

"Shh!" Brock pointed towards the town. A squadron of Jennies was approaching. Brock and Misty shrank back into the brush. Through the branches and leaves, they could see an officer stapling flyers to a nearby tree. She did an about-face and marched back to the squadron, who headed back towards Lavender Town.

"What does it say? I can't read it from here."

Brock squinted. "'Wanted.' It has pictures of Ash, Pikachu, and Meowth! There's also symbol, a green feather. The Viridian badge. I can't make out the smaller print."

Misty nodded. "Giovanni's badge." She heard footsteps and spun towards them. "The kid's back."

"Hey mister, Nurse Joy says that Earth Leader Giovanni stopped adoptions until some Pokemon thieves are caught. Can I have my snacks?" The youngster stepped back and looked up. "Also, you're on a wanted poster by the PokeCenter. Are you the thieves?" Hey eyed them suspiciously.

"Kid! Please! Don't tell anyone! We're not thieves! We're trying to help Pokemon! We want to rescue them from the real thieves." Misty rose from her hiding spot.

"There's another one of you? Hey, you're on the poster too." He scrutinized her face. "You're the Cerulean gym leader!"

"That's right, and if you help us rescue Pokemon from the adoption bin, I'll give you $20—in addition to this guy's snacks." She gestured with her thumb towards Brock.

"Isn't that stealing?"

"They're already stolen. You'd be rescuing them. Giovanni isn't going to let them be adopted. Ever." Misty crouched down to the trainer's eye level.

"Make it $40, and you have a deal."

Misty took a deep breath. "Fine, but you have to rescue as many Pokemon as you can without Nurse Joy noticing."

"You got it. You guys sure are lucky that I—"The trainer looked right, then left, and leaned forward. He then whispered, "—that I think this Earth Leader Giovanni is kinda stupid anyway." He ran back towards town.

/

Misty and Brock returned to Rock Tunnel with around fifty rescued Pokeballs. Brock bumped into a pacing Meowth, who was staring at the ground, holding one walkie-talkie to his ear and another at his side.

"—Well, put da nice human on da line, Corsola. I haven't got all day." He glared up at Brock. "I'm walkin' here!"

"Sorry, sorry." Brock backed up. "But look at these!" He brought out the Pokeballs.

"Bring 'em to Ash and Pikachu. Dey're doin' local ops here in Lavender with da Ditto." He switched walkie-talkies. "What do you mean dere's more rules for da humans in Saffron? Ugh…"

Misty gave a sheepish grin. "We'll, uh, get out of your hair. Where's Ash and Pikachu?"

Meowth cradled one walkie-talkie between his shoulder and ear, and used his paw to gesture to an alcove on the left. His eyes lingered on the Pokeballs. "Dey'll be happy to see dose."


	11. Skirmishes

" _They're repairing the machine. I should've fried it more, huh."_ A few weeks after Giovanni's usurpation, Pikachu and Ash took a break from their usual efforts coordinating allies in Lavender Town and had spent the evening monitoring the Silph Co. branch from afar. A large unmarked truck was parked in front of the building, and men were unloading large metal components piece by piece.

"They had to, sooner or later, especially with the rolling blackouts the news people have been talking about." Ash put his hands in his pockets. "Do you think we can get back in there?"

" _That's a death wish if I ever heard one, Ash."_ Pikachu lowered her head and turned her back towards the laboratory. Its presence shook her less, but she still hated seeing the place, knowing what went on inside.

"Yeah, we shouldn't waste any more time here. I wanna see how Venusaur's handling training all the bug types to fight off Pokeballs."

/

Jessie and James were much more efficient when stealing Pokemon for a good cause. Every night, they received coordinates of Team Rocket activity from Meowth—who got them from the recruited Pokemon in the field—and headed out. Weezing, Arbok, and Crobat would land surprise attacks and distract the abductors, then the two former Rockets would nab the Pokeballs right out of their hands. Back at base, they'd release the Pokemon inside and lead them to Misty and Brock for a debriefing. That strategy worked, until now.

James was within reach of the Pokeballs when one of the Rocket agent spun around, threw a hook punch, and hit him in the jaw.

"Traitor."

Head spinning, James tried to focus on his attacker. "Look, uh…Don't take it personally."

Jessie watched James stagger and started running towards him. She grasped at the walkie-talkie on her belt. "We need backup. Now!"

Another agent slapped the device from her hands. "We got both of them!"

"Arbok, crunch as many as you—" She crumpled as the agent kicked her in the kneecap. "Arbok—"

Crobat tackled two of the agents with a wing attack. Weezing hid James behind a smog, and Arbok crunched the agent who had kicked Jessie.

One of the younger agents, a grunt, called out a Raticate, which bit Arbok's tail. More of Team Rocket's Pokemon—several Fearow, a Marowak, two Houndoom—appeared in red flashes.

The Fearow pecked Crobat out of the sky. The bat fell a few feet away from Weezing, who was the recipient of a bone club from the Marowak. The two Houndoom approached Jessie and James.

"Make it easy for us and don't fight. You're surrounded."

An agent standing behind James pulled out a small dagger marked with a red R. "See, this is why us grunts should be able to carry guns. You never know who you're gonna run into."

"You're preaching to the choir, Tom."

"Just stab 'em, already."

Jessie thought she saw a flash of lightning, but there were no clouds. A Fearow fell from the sky. Pikachu. Of course.

There was another flash and the agent with the dagger collapsed. James cried out.

Jessie crawled towards him, watching the fight unfold. Steelix and Venusaur had joined Pikachu and made quick work of Team Rocket's Pokemon. She edged closer to James and her shoulders to shove the Rocket agent off of him. The dagger had landed point-down in James's upper arm. Jessie removed it with as steady a hand as she could manage. Blood seeped through his shirt. She put pressure on the wound while grimacing at its depth.

"Jessie…if I…I want you…to have…my bottle caps."

"They stabbed you in the arm, you idiot. And they missed anything important. You're not dying." She rolled her eyes. "Meowth sent the big guns—we'll be out of here in no time."

An explosion shook the ground. Steelix roared in pain. "Electrode, return!"

One of the grunts pointed to two elite agents in suits. "We can call backup, too," He spat.

Ash's voice rang out. "Ditto, transform!"

James mumbled, "…Ditto? So much for the big guns…"

"Pikachu, double-team! Ditto, you too!"

A field of a thousand Pikachu surrounded the elite agents. A Magneton exploded into them, and a pocket of the illusion disappeared, then reappeared.

"Pikachu!" Ash stepped back. In a quieter voice, he said, "You know what to do."

Pikachu stopped thinking and felt the possible paths she could follow—where each lightning bolt could branch, where those branches could hit, where it would finally meet the ground. After a second, she stopped holding back and let the electricity flow. A thunder attack. The sky ripped open. It hit the Magneton, it hit the suits, it hit the grunts.

Vines wrapped around Jessie and James, and they fell into a hole that had not been there a minute ago.

Jessie turned around and was met by giant red eyes. Venusaur. She looked up to see Pikachu, Steelix, and Ash standing over her. She rose to her feet and pulled James up. "Thanks."

They hobbled underground until they were beneath Rock Tunnel, Steelix blasting through one of her own furnishings. They were met by Misty, Brock, and several wild Pidgey who just wanted to see what all the commotion was about.

Jessie cut James short before he could make a sound. "Don't be a baby." Jessie was pouring peroxide over the cut. Brock stitched it shut in four quick strokes. James inspected their work, impressed with their attention to detail.

Brock patted him on the shoulder. "Pretty good, right?"

Ash, hunched over, dragged his feet towards his sleeping bag. He flopped onto it with an immediate snore.

James, still a little pale, yawned. "I second that motion. Good night."

Pikachu was also exhausted, but she noticed Meowth's absence. Wouldn't he want to know that the mission was a success? She peeked into the cat's communication hub—he had fallen asleep on top of the walkie-talkies, fur disheveled. Pikachu exhaled quickly through her nose in a silent laugh. She felt warm, her chest full of a quiet wash of fuzzed static. She returned to the main area, curled up on a corner of Ash's sleeping bag, and fell asleep with a faint smile.

Morning arrived too early. Pikachu felt hungover; her head throbbed to the beat of Steelix's daily fighting drills. She grasped her paws towards Ash's coffee.

"Really, Pikachu?"

" _Just give some to me."_ She really didn't like the human drink, but it was helpful for headaches. Her taste was common in Pokemon—most could tolerate tea, or even beer, but never coffee. Meowth, she noticed, might as well have coffee for blood. She didn't understand how he could actually enjoy the black drink.

The pounding subsiding, she started going through her mental to-do list.

First, she had to talk to any new Pokemon who showed up at the cave, wanting to help. She made her way to the western end of the cavern, where Misty had led several Spearow, a Lickitung, and a dozen or so local Ghastly, Haunter, and Gengar. Pikachu wished Wartortle didn't leave with Charizard for Saffron City. He always knew how to motivate and encourage anyone—even strangers.

She coughed. _"Hi. Welcome. I'm Pikachu, and I really want to thank you for helping us out."_ She looked at the group of Spearow. _"If you'd like to learn how to defend yourself and fight off Pokeballs, find Venusaur. You've already met Misty, right? She's going to help you too and she'll take you to Venusaur, so follow her."_ She then nodded at Lickitung. _"If you're comfortable battling and would like to work in our high-risk day operations, follow me in a few minutes, and we'll meet up with Ash. Just, uh, let me know if you're interested."_ The Lickitung raised her hand. _"Oh, okay, good."_ Pikachu smirked at the purple ghosts. _"And I've got the perfect job for you guys! If you like messing with people, being invisible, and stopping Pokemon being caught for infinity energy, see Jessie and James—the humans with the bright hair in the Eastern side of the cave—and join our night operations."_

" _So…I follow you?"_ The Lickitung curled her tongue up.

" _Yeah."_ Pikachu watched as the Spearow made their way towards Venusaur and the ghosts towards Jessie and James. _"Let's go."_

" _So, what we're doing today is watching Jenny activity around Lavender Town. We want access to any official building so we can use the tunnels to get to the Silph Co. branch. Then we can break the infinity energy machine again, giving us more time."_

" _Um, I hope you don't mind that I ask, but more time for what?"_

Pikachu stopped and weighed the question for a bit. _"I guess it's not about giving us more time. It's about giving the Pokemon who've been captured more time until we can stop this whole thing."_ She brushed past Psyduck and Wobbuffet at the cave's entrance and gave them both a quick nod of acknowledgement.

"Hi Lickitung! I'm Ash, and this is Brock, who's going to come with us today since he's looking for supplies. And this is Ninetales, and this is Steelix, and Pidgeotto, and Beedrill…" Ash continued introducing all the day operations Pokemon enthusiastically. Her eyes showing just how overwhelmed she was, Lickitung nodded at each name.

"If you see any signs of Giovanni's location, or any information at all on what his next steps might be, make sure to report it," Brock added.

"Since you're new, you'll stick with me and Pikachu for today." Ash grinned as Pikachu nodded.

Lickitung gave a thumbs-up.

Hours passed, and Ash had drawn scribbles depicting the different paths that the Officers Jenny took. Pikachu wished she could hold a pencil better—they would be able to map more if she could take on half of that work. But it took so long for her to make marks on the paper, so she made runs around different areas instead, expanding their coverage. Beedrill had found a possible opening behind Pokemon Tower, and that needed to be explored further. But it would have to wait as dusk approached. All the Jennies would be on duty soon to enforce the curfew.

Lickitung was standing watch, hidden between two trees, ready at any moment to raise her tongue as if it were a flag to signal any Jenny's approach.

" _We're done for today. Good job staying hidden! Glad to have you on board."_ Pikachu rushed through the last sentence. She really did mean it, but her mind was already on to the next task: finding out how the teams in other cities were doing and coordinating them so everyone was on the same page.

Wobbuffet saluted the team as they returned to Rock Tunnel.

Psyduck tilted his head. _"There was a man in a suit nearby this afternoon. We confused him, though, and we haven't seen him since."_

Pikachu's entire body tensed. _"Good. Keep an eye out in case he comes here again. There were some guys in suits in the fight last night."_ Pikachu weaved through the buzz of the main cavern, intent on making it to Meowth's corner before someone presented her with another new situation that needed to be addressed.

As she reached the rock separating the nook from the rest of the cavern, her face flushed. Why was she nervous about this? She pressed her back against the rock, letting its coolness center her. She could hear Meowth yelling into a walkie-talkie.

"Charizard! Calm down. Jus' give me any info you can." There were some rustling noises. "Okay, okay, I'll tell Pikachu. Don't do anyding stupid. You get that, bucko? Wartortle wid you? Okay. Yeah, jus' avoid da area for now, and we'll send reinforcements. I'm getting anudder call, you guys. Are you okay for now? Okay, I'm going. Radio me again if anyding changes." A loud sigh.

Pikachu took a deep breath and put her right foot forward to enter when Meowth began talking again. She stepped back. "Hello? Yeah, dis is Meowth, who else talks like dis? Hi Kingler. Okay, what's da problem?" Pikachu heard muffled growls and snaps coming through the walkie-talkie. "Woah. Woah. You're new. Calm down. You really tink dat? I don't wanna hear it. You don't even know. Pikachu is out dere fighting, and when she's not fighting, she's risking her life scouting in broad daylight! She's not here in HQ hangin' out on da couch." A pause. "Oh? So you dink she's not doing enough? So you dink she should come by you? And let HQ fall to pieces? Nah. Look, I get how frustrating it is to be stuck, and to see dings and not be able to stop it. I get it. But let me tell you someding. You gotta figure out a way. She's got ta help everyone, not just you. She's working so hard. Last night, she saved my best friends' lives—" His voice wavered. "I don't know what I'd do if she hadn't been dere. So it's personal right now. I know you dink you're problem is da biggest in da world, but I'm lookin' at a map of all da teams right now and deir issues, and I can tell you what you're goin' through is trump change." The sounds of paper shuffling. "I don't mean to be dismissive, I jus' want ta give you some perspective, is all. Kingler? I want you to call and update me on how dings are going tomorrow. I really do care about how everyone is doing, I jus' really want you to understand how bad everyting is everywhere else, okay? Don't be mad. Okay. Call me tomorrow." A heavy click and a groan.

Meowth swiveled around on his chair and caught half of Pikachu's face peeking in. His face turned bright red—almost as bright as a Kingler's claw. "How much of dat did you hear?"

" _Ahh…um…all of it?"_ She put her paws up. _"It's okay, I'm flattered!"_

Meowth massaged his right temple. "So…updates: Charizard and Wartortle dink dere's a backup machine at da main Silph facility in Saffron, and dat dey've started to use it. We need ta send some Pokemon and humans out dere to help 'em out."

" _That's pretty much the last thing I wanted to hear."_

"I know. It sucks big time. But I have some good news! Corsola and Togekiss's team in Celadon have really been doing well gettin' humans on our side. Lots of Pokemon released. Erika, da gym leader dere, is going to join us. Should we send her to Saffron wit her Pokemon, since we can't really part wit anyone here?"

" _Sounds like a plan."_ Pikachu shuffled her feet. _"Hey Meowth, do you mind if I ask a personal question?"_

"We're beyond dat point, Pikachu. What is it?"

" _What, um, what was it like…being Giovanni's Pokemon?"_

Meowth was expecting a question about his speech, or about his eating habits, or maybe something about him taking too many bathroom breaks while on duty. He was not expecting a question about the past.

" _It's okay if you don't want to answer."_

"Nah. I mean, I do want ta answer. It's jus' been, what, twenty years ago now since the last time I was really 'his' Pokemon? I know I'm still, technically, but man, I'm gettin' old." Meowth leaned back in his chair. "I'm not gonna tell you anyding ya don't know already, Pikachu. Pokemon are tools to him, nuttin' else. He got rid of me when dat Persian came along, jus' 'cause a Persian's more 'elegant'. He didn't care dat I could talk human, 'cause he t'ought Pokemon didn't have anyding to say anyway, so he barely used me to translate. If it wasn't for Jessie and James requesting a talking Pokemon, I would've ended up as a battery like all da od'er low-level normal-types in Team Rocket." He looked down at his feet. "So dis whole ding…it is personal. For me."

The air seemed thicker than before. _"Oh."_ Pikachu ran her paws over her ears. _"I'm…I'm sorry. I didn't know that."_

Meowth shrugged and let out a quiet, nervous laugh. "I keep it light, huh?"

Pikachu returned the awkward laugh. _"Hey. I was the one who asked."_

"I'll see ya tomorrow, Pikachu. I got ta get some fresh air." Meowth walked past her, looking back and shaking his head while smiling. Pikachu wanted to reach out and touch him before he left—to do something—but she held back.

* * *

 **A/N: I went back to Chapter 3 to fix a plot hole so the story is consistent. Sorry about that! I also apologize for the updates being slower than before - I've had less time to write lately.**


	12. Past Tense

"Hi guys." Meowth passed Psyduck and Wobbuffet and wondered how they managed to not get bored. Or fall asleep.

" _Hello!"_ The psychic-types responded together, cheerful.

The cool night air hit him—summer was almost over. The bug-types were out chirping, but he couldn't see them. What Meowth could see was the moon.

It was bright tonight, almost full. Meowth allowed himself to sink into thought: the moon was only bright because it was reflecting the sun. Was that what Meowth was, a reflection? Is that why he liked the moon so much? Because he wasn't making anything new but instead only reflected what other people said? That was the reason Pikachu called him, right? To transmit her words, like how the moon transmits the light. She saw him as more than that now, right? Right? But to be the moon isn't so bad, anyway.

As he was scrunching grass between his toes, he realized how far he had wandered from Rock Tunnel. Even though he wanted to stay out here, to be alone, he pivoted to head back.

"Fancy running into you here."

Giovanni? Red light enveloped Meowth, and he felt a sensation of plummeting before falling asleep.

/

Psyduck realized that something was off. Meowth hadn't come back, had he? He was supposed to keep a detailed log of all those who entered and left the cave. Hmm, no. Usually, Meowth would step outside, frown, look at the moon, and come back in in a few minutes. This seemed like hours. The cat had probably fallen asleep out there.

" _Eh, I'm going to get someone to check where Meowth went. Stay here."_ Psyduck quacked as he got up.

Wobbuffet saluted. Again. " _Yes, sir!"_

Psyduck prodded Pikachu's back. She stirred, then curled around herself tighter. He prodded again and received a small shock in return. _"Pikachu."_

Ash, to her left, groaned. "What's going on, Psyduck?"

" _We're missing somebody."_

" _Who?"_ Pikachu sat up and blinked a few times.

" _Meowth went outside, and he didn't come back."_

" _Ughhh…I'll get him."_ She dragged herself up. Meowth sure liked to fall asleep in inconvenient places at inconvenient times. Maybe that was why he was so dependent on the humans' coffee. _"Which way did he go?"_

Psyduck scratched his head as he approached Wobbuffet. _"I don't remember."_

" _He went that way!"_ Wobbuffet pointed to a small clearing in the woods.

Pikachu scrambled up a grassy knoll and hissed: _"Meowth! Get back here!"_ Her eyes darted around the surrounding tree stumps—no cat napper present. This was going to take longer than she thought. She ran back to Rock Tunnel.

" _Couldn't find him?"_

Out of breath, Pikachu didn't answer Psyduck. She went back to Ash, who had nodded off, and shook his shoulder. _"Ash! I can't find Meowth. Use your Aura-thing."_

He rubbed his eyes and warned, "It doesn't always work, Pikachu." Ash tiptoed around Misty's sleeping bag, slipping outside in a matter of seconds. He followed Pikachu to the clearing. "And Wobbuffet's sure he went this way?" Stretching his hands out, spreading his fingers, he closed his eyes and exhaled.

There were Pokemon out here, but less than there should be. That did not surprise Ash. But as he extended his reach, he felt everyone except Meowth. He saw his friends in the cave, the Metapod in tree branches, the sleeping Pidgey and Pidgeot, a Rattata digging. At least his "Aura-thing" was working, but it showed him everyone except the one person he wanted to find.

" _So?"_

"He's not here. I don't know where he is."

Pikachu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Of course he would vanish when Saffron City was falling apart, when they needed communication lines open for a possible raid by Pokemon Tower. And of course he would vanish when Pikachu was only beginning to realize who he actually was. When she realized she would miss him if he wasn't there. Of course. _"But where—"_

"Do you think he ran away? He does have a history of doing that."

No. And, she reminded herself, it wasn't because she asked a personal question. He wouldn't run away, not when the stakes were so high. Not when it was 'personal.' Pikachu looked at Ash and realized that they had walked back to Rock Tunnel while she was lost in her own thoughts. She shifted her weight between her feet, balancing the few options before her. _"Okay. We'll handle this."_ Her face contorted in uncertainty for a moment, then straightened, determined. _"Brock and Steelix…they're pretty close, just like us, right? They can understand each other almost like we can."_

"I'm not following you…"

" _We put them both on communications. Steelix handles Pokemon, Brock handles humans, and together they put the big picture together."_

Ash gave a quick nod. "That makes sense. You, uh, might need to expand the little nook Meowth's made. For Steelix."

" _She can do that. And Meowth—"_ She felt an icy trickle down her chest. _"Meowth…we don't have enough resources to look for him…"_ The man in the suit. Psyduck saw a man in a suit. _"We need to narrow down the possibilities of where he is, then make a plan. We can't waste time, so it's better to plan first, right? That's what Meowth would do."_ Even if his harebrained schemes never worked. _"Chances are, he got caught during a Team Rocket night raid. We'll start there."_

"This isn't the time to say this, but I'm really impressed, Pikachu."

"… _About what?"_

"I always knew you would be a great leader."

Pikachu didn't know about that. She focused on her ground beneath her, using all her strength to keep from collapsing, from sobbing. It was as if she was stuck again at the foot of Victory Road with no way forward.

/

"Welcome back."

Meowth's stomach churned as he materialized in red light—this is why he hated Pokeballs. His eyes focused on Giovanni, then flitted towards Persian for a moment. "What gives?"

The Mafioso reclined in his upholstered chair. "You knew this would happen. I need information."

Meowth did know that Giovanni would be back for him, that it was only a matter of time before he was recalled. But after years of hoping Giovanni would remember him, now Meowth wished that he had been forgotten completely. "And you dink I would give it to you?"

"In case you've been living under a rock—and now I know you have been—I'm the Prime Minister now. You're going to stand up to me? My government? My army?"

"We've been doin' okay so far," Meowth muttered.

"I'm the Earth Leader. And even if I wasn't, you're still my Pokemon. You obey me."

Meowth stood up and slammed his paws on the table, scratching its finish. "I did! I did! And where did it get me, Giovanni? Eighty-sixed!"

"Subdue him."

Persian leapt up onto the table and scratched Meowth across the face. He fell backwards and shrank away from his evolved form. He hissed, "Persian! You're a Pokemon, too. One day it'll be you." He turned his head away, avoiding eye contact with his old rival. "Help me."

" _No."_ Persian swiped again.

Meowth crawled backwards. "You're a Pokemon! You know what he's doin' to us!"

" _I scratch his back; he scratches mine."_ He landed a slash attack on Meowth's chest, knocking the wind out of him. _"Being a Pokemon has nothing to do with it."_

Giovanni's voice "Enough, Persian." The larger cat returned to his side.

Meowth's words were broken by gasps. "What are you, some kinda kapo?"

"I'll be back, and then we'll have a talk." Giovanni paused before opening the door. "Make it a productive one."


	13. Speechless

" _Sir! There was a surprise attack!"_ Wobbuffet interrupted Pikachu, who was debriefing Brock and Steelix on each city's status.

" _Where?"_ Her ears flared, and her cheeks sparked.

Wobbuffet held his arms at his sides, his back stiff as if a string was pulling him upwards. _"Here. Right outside. They found our day operations team."_

Ash was out there. _"Let's go. Steelix, Brock. Get Misty and Venusaur. Crobat—anybody. Get the Ditto, too."_

Brock held out a hand as Pikachu ran out. "Wait—I missed some of that…"

" _We're under attack. Get anyone who can fight outside,"_ Steelix unfurled, preparing to exit the cramped communications nook.

"Got it. Go ahead, they need you more than me right now. I'll get the others." Brock craned his neck to meet Steelix in the eye, then hugged her jagged side. "Be careful, okay?"

Steelix slithered out behind Wobbuffet and roared back into the cave.

Venusaur knew what that roar meant. He herded the Ditto with his vines, then yelled so that the cave quaked: _"Crobat! New guys! Yeah, you too, Machoke. We're under attack – let's go!"_

"Misty, we need you!"

"On it!" She bolted towards the entrance.

Jessie poked her head out from under a precipice. "What about us?"

Misty slowed her pace, twisting her neck to call back. "You guys need to stay here with Psyduck and guard Rock Tunnel."

Jessie was left behind in the dust. She brushed some off of her clothes. "I guess we're stuck here, James."

Her partner in crime picked at the bandage on his arm. "Seems that way, doesn't it."

They walked towards Psyduck and sat on the ground next to him. Jessie picked up a pebble and rolled it in her hand. The battle was not visible from their position, but the sounds of hyper beams and thunder reached the cave.

James rested his chin on his hand. "Looks like we're a couple of lame ducks." Psyduck quacked in agreement.

/

Meowth tried to get some sleep. He leaned against the fake potted plant that decorated the locked and windowless office. Swishing his tail against the metal of the container, Meowth tried to focus on anything to distract his mind from his current situation. He counted the ceiling tiles. Twice. He broke down the possibility unscrewing the air vents and climbing through those and decided it wasn't worth the risk. Now, he was counting imaginary Mareep jumping over a fence to see if the old trick really did help people fall asleep.

He heard the click of the lock opening and stood up, claws extended. The door opened.

"Put your claws away, or you go back in the Pokeball."

"Oh, it's dis guy." Meowth looked Professor Oak up and down. "What do you want?"

Professor Oak set down a bowl with water and a small amount of Pokefeed. "Believe it or not, to keep you alive."

"Why would I tell youse anything if I'm useless after I talk?"

"You raise a good point, and I expected it. You're very intelligent for a Pokemon."

Meowth rolled his eyes. "I'm smarter dan your average Teddiursa, sure, but I'm not dat smart."

"Meowth, listen to reason. If you tell Giovanni everything you know now, nothing will happen to you. You'll be able to rejoin Team Rocket, no questions asked."

"Heh. I'd want dat in writing." Meowth sat back down and crossed his arms behind his head. "But even if dat's real, I'm not gonna budge. I don't wanna be responsible for…all dis." He gestured with his paws towards the hallway.

Oak crouched down. "Look. Infinity energy is not as bad as it seems, Meowth."

"How can you even say dat?"

"Without it, our whole society would collapse."

"Human society. Human society would collapse."

"…Yes. Our last nuclear facility was too old and hard to maintain. It had to be shut down before something terrible happened. We had been using infinity energy to supplement it, but as a renewable resource—"

"'Renewable resource'! Really?"

"—Pokemon are renewable. And the process is painless—"

"How do you know!?"

"—It saves lives. Think about the intensive care units of hospitals. The lives of Pokemon, too. PokeCenters and their healing machines."

"Den it doesn't make any sense! Why would you kill some to save od'ers? A Pokemon wit a trainer isn't more better dan one witout one."

"That is an interesting ethical discussion and—"

"You're killin' Pokemon!"

"You're not going to understand." Oak then said to himself, "I tried. I really did." He turned his back and reached for the doorknob.

"Oak! Wait!" The professor was ignoring him. "Oak!"

The professor groaned. "What! What is it? I know you didn't change your mind."

"Dis is off da topic, but, uh, where's da bathroom? If you're supposed to keep me alive an' all, I should know."

Professor Oak nodded towards the corner furthest from the door. "Use that."

A litterbox. Persian's old litterbox. "Well, dis is insulting."

The door slammed behind Oak.

/

Pikachu hadn't stopped running until she found Ash. He was okay. He was okay—he was holding an injured Geodude, and he was shouting attacks to the new Lickitung and the rest of the day operations team. She embraced him and buried her face in his jeans.

She stepped back and took a deep breath. _"Tell me what's happening."_

Ash looked down at the Geodude he was holding. "Team Rocket, the Jennies, and soldiers are fighting together. There are tanks firing on us, and one of the Rocket executives has an overpowered Dragonite…" He trailed off as an explosion shook the ground.

" _I'll disable the tanks…Do we have any ice-types who can take on the Dragonite?"_

"No—"

" _I know ice punch."_ Machoke, who had appeared in a small crowd with Wobbuffet, Venusaur, Steelix Crobat, and the Ditto, flexed his arms.

" _Okay. Ash, direct Machoke. Steelix, go with them too—cover them."_

Ash laid the Geodude down against a tree trunk. "You'll be okay, buddy. We'll be back." Ash stood still for a moment, looking at the distant line of Arcanine, Electrode, and Magneton. "Venusaur, I want you to use giga drain on any Pokemon battling us from the end of your range. Don't get in the line of the Arcanine's fire." Venusaur nodded.

Pikachu nodded at Wobbuffet. _"Wobbuffet, you're with me. Use counter and mirror coat so I can get up close to the tanks."_ She looked at the rest of the Pokemon who had gathered to help. _"Do your best."_

She looked back as she advanced forward with Wobbuffet by her side. Bolts from the Electrode and Magnemite littered the ground, and the air hummed with every hyper beam fired. Bullets whizzed across the field—the humans were using bullets! The heat from the Jennies' Arcanine prickled against her skin. Wobbuffet, arms outstretched, shielded her from an explosion attack, redirecting it back towards a regiment of soldiers.

A Pidgeot lay face down. Was it hurt—was it dead? Pikachu slowed down for a moment, heart breaking, then focused on the task ahead. The tanks. She could chart the course of the electricity in their engines now. She just needed to get closer.

Wobbuffet extended a dome to rebuff flames and bullets as Pikachu leapt onto a tank.

"It's the Pikachu!" A soldier shouted. "Fire!"

The Dragonite that Ash, Machoke, and Steelix were battling turned his attention towards Pikachu. A screech ripped through the air as a white beam of light flashed towards her. Before the ray reached her vision, she saw Ash for a split second. He was on the ground. She herded the ions around her—the charges in the air—and created a crackling dome to deflect the hyper beam. An electro ball. The white beam of light shot bounced against the electro ball and landed in the sky. The tank beneath her groaned and she felt it in her feet.

/

Meowth jumped when he heard the lock click open again. Hours must have passed. Giovanni, with Persian, walked in. Meowth did not acknowledge them. Arms wrapped around his knees, he turned his head away.

"Hello, Meowth." Giovanni waited for a response, but there wasn't any. "I see you've had enough time to think this over." He sat in a chair and stroked Persian under the chin. "So what would you like to tell me?"

Meowth still looked away. Giovanni drummed his fingers against the table.

"Let's start with this: What is Pikachu's plan?" Giovanni's voice rose, still controlled. "Answer me."

"I don't know." Meowth blinked and slowly faced his old boss.

"Oh, I'm sure you do. You seem to have been quite an essential asset for them."

"You know what she wants to do. To stop you."

"I need details, Meowth."

"I. Don't. Know."

"Let's change the topic." Giovanni smiled, tight-lipped, as Persian stretched. "So why do I keep getting turned around at Rock Tunnel, Meowth? It's as if there is a force field keeping me from going inside."

"Dat's exactly what it is. A force field," Meowth lied in a flat voice.

"You don't have the technology! Tell me the truth!"

Meowth examined two paw pads and had them meet at the tips. "Maybe it's a natural phenomenon, and you don't wanna mess wit dose."

"I know you're headquartered there! Tell me how to get inside!"

"No."

"And I didn't even take your Pokeball into this room to show my good faith." Giovanni's eyes narrowed. "That faith was displaced." He rose, straightening his suit. He opened the door and tilted his head towards Meowth. "Take care of him."

As Giovanni and Persian left, a familiar-looking lab assistant entered.

"Gary freakin' Oak?"

The lab assistant—Gary—opened a briefcase, revealing Meowth's Pokeball. "Don't struggle. It'll make it worse."

"Don't do dis, Gary. Please!" Meowth pleaded as his eyes began to tear. "Don't do dis!"

Gary sighed and clicked open the Pokeball.

Before Meowth was withdrawn, four words sputtered out: "You're a real asshole."

Gary held the Pokeball and turned it over in his hand before placing it back in the briefcase. "I know."

/

Pikachu had hoped the tank shorted-out from her attack, but it kept moving forward. The cannons aimed toward her, and she could feel the heat rising from the metal. The field, green a few moments ago, was scorched. Ash was on the ground.

The tank became even hotter. A buzz grew, and Pikachu jumped down, avoiding the cannon fire. She looked up to find Wobbuffet reaching over her, hands shaking, his forcefield growing wavy.

" _We're going to retreat, Wobbuffet."_ Pikachu dashed towards Ash and her heart melted in relief: he was fine, he was moving, he was getting up.

He huffed, "We should keep going…"

" _No. We'll all get killed."_ She nudged him up further. _"Get everyone to retreat."_ She ran forward, screeching as loud as she could manage. _"Retreat! Fall back!"_

The Lickitung from yesterday had taken a beating but was still standing—she cradled a Spearow in one arm and dragged the Beedrill from the day operations team with the other. _"We're retreating?"_

" _Yes. Tell everyone you can."_

Pikachu stopped before she reached the woods. She crouched, watching Pokemon run back, some limping, some, like Lickitung, helping others make it across the field. No one was being left behind. The tanks grew larger—they were following the retreating Pokemon, firing. The last stragglers made it to Pikachu's point. She turned around to watch them enter the woods, Wobbuffet at her back and Ash at her side.

The Pokemon wove through the woods, obscuring themselves in the brush. The image was familiar; an old memory surfaced. A summer night, so dark that the trees faded into the sky. Passing clouds obscured patches of stars, and further away, she could make out the faint glow of sparks. There were Pikachu, the Pikachu she belonged with, and they were fighting. She was young, and she could barely understand the currents passing cheek-to-cheek. The crackling lights stopped. The Pikachu disappeared into the woods, running past each other. She was not with them. She was on a tree stump. They left her. Someone green and light hovered over her, then flew upwards. There were footsteps. A human—Professor Oak. There were footsteps now, Ash's footsteps. Pikachu fell back into the present, and it felt like cold water.

Ash knelt beside Wobbuffet, pointing at the approaching tanks and regiments of Jennies. "Send out two confusion attacks. One at the level of the tank drivers, the other at the level of the Jennies' heads."

" _Yes, sir!"_

The two rays sprouted from Wobbuffet's head in quick succession.

"Use a flash attack, Pikachu. Blind them."

She did, and the tanks stopped. The Jennies broke formation. The three fled back to Rock Tunnel, each one praying for their base's protection.


	14. Static

Five casualties on their side. Pikachu bit her lip as she stifled the cold thought that said: five isn't too bad. Five was five too many—the Pidgey she had seen earlier didn't make it, and neither did a Raticate, a Butterfree, a Tangela, a Ditto. The reports coming in from the cities around Kanto painted a grimmer picture, with more losses. Her paw shook as she held one of the walkie-talkies, Charizard on the other end. _"They knew our communications were down."_ They knew Meowth was gone.

" _How many did you lose?"_

" _Five."_

There was a break in the sound, then Charizard answered, _"Maybe they'll come back as Ghastly."_

" _Charizard!"_

" _Hey, hey, it's how I deal."_ A crackle. _"Really. I don't know what else to do."_

Pikachu pushed her anger down, feeling it pool at the pit of her stomach. _"Listen. I want you and all the other teams to come back. But we're surrounded."_

" _So we'll just get shot down, Pikachu. Great idea. Good job."_

" _Find a psychic-type who knows teleport. Or if not that, somebody who knows lightscreen who can make you look invisible."_

" _Like Abra grow on trees…"_

" _Are you really better off where you are?"_

Charizard took his time responding to that. _"We'll get on it."_

" _Good. I'll send the message out to the other teams…anybody who's still out there…"_

The walkie-talkie with "Saffron" written on masking tape around the side—James's handwriting, it looked like—went silent. Pikachu picked up the one labeled "Celadon."

Hours passed. She had reached someone from all the teams except the smallest one in Viridian City. All she heard there was status. She feared, no, she knew it was a lost cause, considering Viridian was Giovanni's city. She had stopped keeping track of the casualties; it was too much. They wouldn't be gone if it wasn't for her.

" _Pikachu."_

It was Ash. _"I know what you're thinking. It's not your fault. You should go to bed. You haven't stopped since after the battle, and you need to rest."_

" _Technically, it is—"_

" _No. If it weren't for you, a lot more would've become infinity energy."_

" _That doesn't take away—"_

" _No, but you didn't force them to fight. They knew what they were doing."_ His hand petted her head. _"Really, you should go to bed."_

She still didn't completely agree with Ash, but sleep pulled her down. _"Okay. Fine. I'll go rest."_ She slinked away to one of the quieter spots in the cave and leaned back against a rock. Just as her eyes closed, the ground shook.

"Psyduck, confuse them again! Again!" Pikachu could hear the worry in Misty's voice.

Unsteady, Pikachu spotted a Rocket executive near the entrance and shocked him. _"How close are they?"_

The hum of a hyper beam answered her. It hit the ceiling, edging Crobat's current position. Pikachu sent a thunderbolt that followed the path of light back to its origin. Several boulders tumbled down, obscuring the attackers in dust. The fur on the back of her neck bristled; something—someone—gigantic was behind her.

" _Guess what! Abra do grow on trees."_ It was Charizard. _"And we got a Kadabra, and this Alakazam too! Sabrina's Alakazam! A real boss, that one."_

Pikachu was not sure if she had actually fallen asleep despite herself, and that Charizard's out-of-thin-air appearance, with Wartortle standing behind him, was all part of an exhaustion-driven dream.

Charizard continued, _"I don't like teleporting, though, even though Wartortle thinks it's cool. I just, it just makes me feel gross, you know, and it's been a while, huh, good to catch up—"_

" _Charizard. Stop talking. We're under attack. Go set them on fire, or something."_

" _Done and done."_ Charizard flapped his wings, and the giant lizard hurled a fire blast towards the cave's entrance.

Pikachu focused on his tail's flame growing smaller.

Wartortle spoke. _"Togekiss and Corsola and everybody from Celadon are coming back—they're flying with a lightscreen. They should be here in a day or two."_ He gestured towards the Alakazam, who was gripping his spoons with an intense look of concentration. _"The other members of our team are with the Abra and Kadabra."_

" _Thanks for keeping track of them."_

" _It's what I do."_ Wartortle secured his sunglasses. _"Ah, I should put out any 'friendly fire,' since, you know, Charizard can go overboard."_

" _Hmm."_ Pikachu's focus had wandered into the dust from the battle. She squinted, but she could not make out anything except for Wartortle's shell disappearing into it all. It was too risky to send out another thunderbolt attack. As she stepped closer, she heard Jessie and James arguing from somewhere in that chaotic cloud.

"James! This is our weapons cache?" Jessie asked. "This? This is it? What was Brock thinking?"

"Let's just make the best of it."

"What could we even use this thing as, a cannon?"

"None of this is canon, Jessie."

Pikachu slipped into the fold, and finally saw the front line. Jessie and James were wielding a strange-looking device with a nozzle and a fuel tank attached haphazardly. Whenever one line of Jennies fell, another took their place, and their formation seemed to go on forever. The soldiers were firing their weapons without aim, creating a storm of bullets that occasionally hit their own. Charizard was setting a tank on fire, and Wartortle was dousing a Ghastly, whose purple cloud had caught on fire, with water. Misty and Brock were pointing and yelling to Psyduck and Wobbuffet. Venusaur and Steelix worked on tipping over another tank and swatting back Rocket executives. Each Ditto had transformed into the Pokemon closest to them, making Pikachu question if her vision had gone double for a brief moment. Then she found Ash—Ash was scooping up injured Pokemon and running them back further into the cave. So, this was how they would lose. Pikachu pulled her energy into charging a thunder attack—if she was going to go out, she was going to go out with a bang. As she focused on her breath, a piece of cold metal, a spoon, tapped her on the head.

" _I am ready to help now."_ The Alakazam that had teleported Charizard and Wartortle stared into her eyes.

" _Okay? Thank you?"_ Pikachu tensed at the interruption and his disconcerting stare; she would have to start generating the charge all over again. A few more moments, and she released her channeled electricity, focusing on the position of the center tank. The thunder attack never hit its target. She opened her eyes. The tanks, the Jennies, the soldiers, the Team Rocket members—all gone. Yes, Pikachu thought to herself, this had to be a dream. She must have fallen asleep. Or maybe she was dead.

Ash, out of breath, jogged towards Pikachu and Alakazam. "Um. Where did they go?"

" _Mount Moon."_

" _What?"_ Pikachu blinked, and her jaw dropped.

" _I teleported them."_

"Without you touching them? That's…that's beautiful, Alakazam." Ash grinned. "Thank you. Do you see Psyduck and Wobbuffet over there? I want you to meet them. Can you teach them to do that?"

" _It will be challenging…"_

"Just try your best. I'll help. And if you see anyone with bad intentions coming our way, just keep sending them to Mount Moon."

" _I will. Of course. You need my help."_

"We sure do!" Ash laughed, wiping tears from his eyes. "Oh, I can't believe this. Sabrina's Alakazam. Wow. Thank you."

Pikachu, still gaping, scratched the back of her head. _"T-Thank you,"_ she stammered. Dragging her feet, she retreated further into the cave and collapsed against a comfortable-looking rock.

When her eyes closed, the image that came forward was not of Charizard popping into existence, lines of Jennies falling and rising, or a celebrity Alakazam brandishing his spoons. What she saw was Meowth.

/

Gary wasn't in his cubicle when Giovanni's personal assistant came around. The assistant found what he was looking for easily enough—the metal briefcase containing one Pokeball. He swung the briefcase off of the desk and considered leaving a note for the research assistant, but decided against it. Gary was smart; he'd figure it out.

The assistant carried this briefcase down to the Infinity Energy module, tucked away in room E36 of the science wing. Professor Oak waited for him. "You're sure you can't get any information out of him? At all?"

"Giovanni said it's not worth the wait." Oak wiped his brow. "I agree...we need every Pokemon we can get right now, if we don't want to go completely dark. And I knew this one, too. I avoid using ones I knew."

"Hmm." The assistant yawned and rolled back on his heels.

Professor Oak gripped the Pokeball in one hand, and entered a code into the machine. A robotic arm extended, clasped the Pokeball, and withdrew. Professor Oak entered another code, a longer one. The machine started whining, and the Pokeball appeared to shimmer from the high-speed vibrations.

Usually Meowth didn't feel anything when inside a Pokeball. But for a second, he was aware of a bright heat that faded like static.

* * *

 **AN: Thank you all for reading this far! I really appreciate all of you, and I love it when you leave reviews. :) I'm going to be taking a hiatus on _The Power that's Inside_ until December-I'm working on a different project for NaNoWriMo. Because I am a cheesy person with a cheesy taste in music, I made a playlist on Spotify for this story if you'd like to search for it. It's called TPTI and it's by user aloejazz. I hope you enjoy it! Please stay tuned for updates...there's still a lot of story left!**


	15. Breaking Out

Hands in his pockets, Gary returned to his desk. He fumbled while putting on the jacket that had been hanging over his chair. He opened his locked drawer to collect all the letters from Ash he had saved over the years, and then he picked up the pile of letters he had written to Ash but never sent. He traced the edge of his desk with his fingers, tapping his feet with anticipation. Something was missing—the briefcase. His hands, sweating, stuffed the letters into a bag, crumpling them, and his legs raced down the hallway.

Gary's grandfather, as expected, manned the infinity energy machine—the extractor—turning the dials, keying in codes at regular intervals. The room was loud from many small noises: air being pumped into the room through vents, the high-pitched whine emitted from the machine, and the clacks of Professor Oak's fingers on a touch-screen. Gary reached over Professor Oak's arm to punch in the force shut-down button, a small, red knob protruding from the control panel. There was a beep, and the machine's whine faded.

"What the hell?" Professor Oak glowered at his grandson. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Gramps." Gary grabbed the Pokeball and hissed through his teeth as it burnt his hand. "I can't help you." The lights flickered, and, for a second, the room became quiet without the hum of electricity.

Professor Oak pointed to Giovanni's assistant, who had retreated meekly into a corner. "You! Get out of here! You saw nothing!"

"But what will I tell—"

"You'll tell him nothing! You saw nothing!"

The assistant backed out of the room.

Gary put the Pokeball into his bag with the letters. "I'm going."

Oak crossed his arms. "You know very well what you're getting yourself into."

"I know."

"And you know this is how we're going to solve the energy crisis. How important this is. Your name, your career—"

"I don't—"

"Just go." The professor turned to face the wall. "Now. Before anyone else sees you. I don't want Giovanni to put a hit on my own grandson."

"Gramps—"

"Leave."

His mouth opened to say something, anything, but Gary held back. He walked out of Team Rocket headquarters in long, smooth strides that belied the trembling that had overtaken his stomach.

Holding his breath, he passed his coworkers and the occasional Team Rocket grunt. He kept the Pokeball hidden inside his jacket, swiping his ID card at the requisite checkpoints and attracting little attention. He kept walking on Route 23, his posture too-perfect, too-straight until the large tower was no longer visible.

Slowing his pace and slumping his back in relaxation, Gary noticed how cold it had gotten—the air felt good against his still-stinging hand. Fall had set in, and every time he crunched on a leaf, he jumped at the noise. He sat on a rock and held the Pokeball out in front of him, weighing it. It felt as though it had the same weight as before the extraction process. Maybe he did make it in time. Probably not. He should still let Ash know.

Gary let out a deep breath and watched it condense into fog. He minimized the Pokeball and placed it in a pocket. How would he even find Ash? There were rumors, sure, of some impenetrable fortress near Lavender Town, but if he showed up, a persona non grata, he'd get blasted into the sky by Pikachu and friends. And the rumors could be wrong anyway, and even if Gary did show up to the right place without being attacked, there was the very likely chance that he'd be delivering nothing but an empty Pokeball. Ash would be heartbroken by that. And if Ash were heartbroken—

Something rustled behind him. Gary jumped up, both feet on the ground, hands balled up into fists. A Mankey, whose eyes extended in fear at the sight of the human, ran back into the brush with her arms dragging on the ground.

"Wait!" The Pokemon didn't stop. "I need to find Pikachu. I'm a friend." At this, the Mankey turned around. "You know the Pikachu who's leading the fight? I need to find her."

The Mankey shrugged and grunted.

"If you—If you could find a way to tell her—tell her Gary Oak found an important Pokeball and wants to give it to her. I'll meet anywhere she wants to. This isn't a trick. I promise. She can bring as much backup as she likes to be safe. Will you get this information to her?"

The Mankey nodded.

/

Pikachu was going over a map of Kanto when Steelix's tail hit against a wall of the cave, shaking everything and breaking her concentration.

" _Any updates?"_

Steelix cleared her throat. _"Okay. So. A Mankey told a Pidgey told a Weedle, who told—"_

" _What is it?"_

"— _I—I think they found Meowth."_


	16. Ships in the Night

Gary screamed as Pikachu, Wartortle, and an Abra materialized in front of him.

" _Keep it down, will ya! Get a load of this guy."_ Wartortle stretched, raising his arms above his head. _"Calm down, Gary. You're going to give us away."_

"I—I had no idea you were going to teleport here. An Abra, huh? Smart thinking."

" _It's been a while."_ Pikachu smiled.

"Hi, Pikachu." Gary ruffled around his bag and his pockets, pulling out crumpled papers and Meowth's Pokeball. "You don't have much time to hang around, I guess, with everything going on. So—"

Upon seeing Meowth's Pokeball, Pikachu gasped and tried to ask a question, but it wouldn't come.

" _Is he alive?"_ Wartortle asked this question as if he were asking about the weather.

Gary sighed and knelt on the ground. "If you're asking if he's alive, I don't know. They started the extractor on him, but I stopped it while it was in process. We've never had a Pokemon only go 'halfway.'" Gary ran both his hands through his hair. "He could still be in there; he could be gone. I just don't know. I haven't opened the Pokeball—I wasn't going to do that outside, on the run."

" _Gary. I—we—thanks. Really."_ Pikachu wanted to say more, but she couldn't find the words.

"I don't deserve it. Really. For how long I went along with this—"

Wartortle frowned. _"—We should really get moving."_

"Ah, yeah, you probably have to get back." Gary sighed. "I want you to give these to Ash."

Pikachu peeked around the stack of wrinkled papers Gary had placed in front of her. _"What are these?"_

"Um. Letters. Important letters. It would mean a lot to me if he read them."

Pikachu glanced at Meowth's Pokeball, then at Wartortle, who was now pacing. _"Of course."_

"And—" Gary removed the pendant he had worn for so many years. He held it in front of him, watching the green and yellow stone spin on its black cord. Then, in a swift gesture, he placed it around Pikachu's neck. "—Please give that to Ash as well."

" _Are we done?"_ Wartortle grabbed the Abra by its arm.

" _Wait—_ " Pikachu, with Gary's letters stuffed under one of her arms, craned her neck to look Gary in the eye as he stood up. _"What's going to happen to you now?"_

"Ha! You're worried about me? Of all people?" Gary put his hands on his hips. "I'm going to lay low in the Orange Islands."

" _You could join us."_

Gary sighed. "My hands are dirty. I—I can't." He turned around. "Good luck, Pikachu. Pokemon everywhere are counting on you."

Pikachu watched as Gary walked further into the woods. She joined Wartortle and Abra, touching the latter's arm.

" _That Gary really knows how to lay on the pressure."_ Wartortle tilted his head towards the Abra. _"Let's go back. Finally."_

" _On it."_ The Abra squinted, and the three felt heaviness on their feet as they dropped into the central cavern of Rock Tunnel.

/

Ash ran up to meet them. "What happened? How's Gary? How's—"

Jesse and James brushed past Ash, shoving him to the side. "Where is he!?" Jesse's voice decreased in volume. "Haven't you released him?"

" _No. Not yet."_

"Why? Is he—" James crouched over Pikachu, examining the Pokeball.

" _We don't know."_ Pikachu set down the letters. _"_ Pikapi, _the letters are for you, from Gary. And so is this."_ She slid the pendant off and held it up to Ash.

"Gary…"

Wartortle leaned against the cavern's wall. _"Are we going to open Meowth's Pokeball?"_

" _Yeah."_ Pikachu then shook her head. _"But I just don't know—"_

"I—I'm sorry, Pikachu—but I don't feel an aura here." Ash rubbed the back of his head, eyebrows furrowed. "We'll only know by opening it."

As Pikachu's paw hovered over the release button, Wartortle touched her on the shoulder. _"Well, don't get ahead of yourself. You don't know what it's going to be like. At least release him in an area where there's space…you know..."_

The mouse nodded. As she moved to a quieter space with Wartortle and the former Rocket duo—Wobbuffet, Arbok, and Weezing trailing behind them—Ash flipped through the letters, eyes scanning the pages. He swallowed, smiled, and shook his head. His expression hardening almost immediately, he returned his focus to the Pokeball in Pikachu's paw. Ash gestured towards Misty and Brock, who in turn signaled Venusaur and Charizard. A small crowd had formed.

Pikachu lowered her tail and pressed the release button. She held her breath.

A flash of red light appeared. But it wavered. And came back again.

"That isn't right," James whispered.

The light began forming into a shape, but it was not that of a Meowth or any other Pokemon. It was blocky, as if a portion of the world had been pixelated.

Jessie "What—"

Ash flipped open Dexter 3.1. It repeated, "Missing No. Missing No. Missing No." The text below the glitched picture read: "No Pokedex entry or number. Unknown Pokemon."

The constant stream of "Missing No." became too much to bear after a few seconds that felt stretched into hours. Misty took the Pokedex from Ash's hands and gently closed it.

Pikachu stood frozen at the "head" of the reddish blocks. Tears blurred her vision, and a helplessness tore at her in a way that it seemed almost familiar—a strange vision of stone flashed in her mind. If this was the in-between, what the machine took from Pokemon…then it was worse than she thought. She had hoped, disgusting as the practice was, that it was all or nothing—the Pokemon was either there or not. Not, not this gradual reduction of spirit, of a very existence.

Pikachu's fur was dampened by her silent crying, and an occasional teardrop fell onto the partially solid distortion below her. The blocky light reacted, brightening up in some spots and dimming in others. The blocks grew smaller and more numerous, as if its resolution were increasing.

"Look." Brock pointed to the form on the floor. The red light dimmed to reveal white fur on a prone form.

Meowth's eyes blinked open, then closed again. _"Pikachu?"_ It was the first time Pikachu—or any of the others—had heard him speak in Pokemon.


	17. Reminders

" _So, um, communications are still down. I guess."_ Charizard swished his tail. He raised an eyebrow while examining Meowth. _"He's out."_

" _You need sensitivity lessons. Seriously."_ Wartortle sighed and pulled Charizard by the tip of his wing, dragging him away from the scene. _"Venusaur, can you see how Pikachu's holding up?"_

He shrugged and craned his neck. _"Eh, not…well?"_

Pikachu's back was turned to Meowth, her head pressed against the cavern wall.

" _Stay here with Venusaur, fire-breath."_ Wartortle squinted at Charizard and waddled back over to the mouse. " _Pikachu?"_ There was no response. _"Pikachu."_

Without moving her head from the wall, she responded in a flat tone. " _What."_

" _This can't stop you."_

" _It hasn't."_

" _Then—"_

Pikachu interrupted him with a glare. She walked away to the corner filled with the communications equipment, some of the radios dented by Steelix. Hunched over a desk, Pikachu's eyes pored over papers she could not read.

Ash wasn't paying attention: he had restarted Dexter 3.1 twice, for good measure. He pointed it at Meowth again, only for the glitched image and repetitions of "Missing No." to return. Directing it towards Venusaur, the standard image of the Pokemon appeared on the small screen, with the narration "Venusaur, the seed Pokemon." Hesitating, he scanned Meowth one last time with the device. Even though Meowth looked like a Meowth now, the Pokedex would only show the pixelated image and repeat "Missing No." until the computer was restarted again.

He looked down and noticed Pikachu's absence— he sighed. Pikachu's tail stuck out like lightning from the chair in the communications nook.

" _Not now. I need to come up with a plan."_ Her face was buried in Meowth's notes, conscientiously written down by James.

Ash opened his mouth to respond that he could read the notes to her, but seeing her face, he held back the words. He sat down and pulled his knees to his chest. The papers—Gary's letters—crunched. Stricken by panic for a split-second, Ash shifted his weight forward to pull out the stack of letters from his pocket. Some were already yellow at the edges from age. How long had Gary been writing?

It was hard not to skim over some of the wordier parts, but Ash kept reading. At points he stifled laughter, at others, tears. And then, his face turned red. He checked to his left and his right, making sure no one was reading over his shoulder, and he grinned.

Misty had perched on a boulder on the other side of the space. She watched Ash as he read the letters. Her gaze centered on Gary's necklace, now resting on Ash's chest. Misty then looked away. Her mouth smiled, but her eyes didn't.

Lickitung tapped her on the shoulder, startling her.

" _Psyduck wants to tell you something."_

"What?"

Lickitung pointed towards Rock Tunnel's entrance. _"We have a visitor."_

"I'm not sure what you're saying. You want me to see Psyduck, Wobbuffet…Alakazam?"

Lickitung nodded.

/

"Hey? Buddy?" James poked Meowth. "We gotta move you."

"It's not like he's going to just get up and walk to a more convenient place, James." Jessie brushed hair away from her face. "Is it even safe to move him?"

"Let's check his pulse again." Brock crouched down to place two fingers on the cat's wrist. "It seems to have evened out a bit."

James, hands on his hips, surveyed the cavern. "I guess it'd be a bit nicer for him by our sleeping bags." He scooped up Meowth in one motion.

"I always forget how heavy—" James gawked at something, losing his grip on Meowth enough that one arm swung loose, limp. He composed himself and repositioned the cat before whispering, "What. Is. That."

"It looks familiar, though, doesn't it?" Jessie tilted her head towards the tall, purple Pokemon. It wore a dramatic black cloak.

Ash looked up from the letters to find Misty and Psyduck with a Pokemon that he could have sworn he had dreamt about, long ago. He packed away the letters back into his pocket, smoothing out the crinkles in the paper. He pulled out Dexter 3.1—again—and flipped it open.

The computer narrated, "Unknown Pokemon."

Misty flashed a sheepish grin as she approached Ash. "Today's the day for Pokemon that break the Pokedex, huh?"

The purple Pokemon "spoke" without moving its mouth. "I am Mewtwo."

"Telepathy." Brock rubbed his chin.

Mewtwo took off his cloak and dropped it to the floor. "We have met before. Twice, actually. Maybe three times? It has been a while…"

Ash stood up. "What do you want?"

"I—"

"—Because every time a strange and powerful Pokemon decides I'm the 'Chosen One,' I almost die. I—I can't handle that right now—"

"—I've come to help you…" Mewtwo nodded at Pikachu, who emerged from the communications nook. "I want to see you succeed."

"Hold up. If we've all met before, how come no one seems to remember you?" Jessie asked.

"Oh. I wiped your memories."

" _Ugh. Psychic-types, right?"_ Charizard rolled his eyes.

Pikachu stared at the ground with her eyes narrowed. _"If you want to help us, and you're powerful enough for telepathy, wiping memories, where were you? Where were you before? Before the Pidgey died? Before…Meowth?"_ She focused on Mewtwo's eyes, looking for an answer.

The Psychic-type's countenance didn't waver. "It would have made things worse."

" _And if you knew about infinity energy, why didn't you stop it before? You could have stopped it yourself. Why didn't you?"_ Pikachu's voice shook.

Mewtwo extended a three-fingered hand, and a ball of blue light emerged from it. The ball grew, crackling with energy, and it encompassed the room.

There were images projected in the blue light. Fire. A laboratory. A broken tube. Mewtwo, with fire reflected in his eyes. Giovanni's shadow.

"This was how I was born. I am not like other Pokemon. I was created by humans. I am a clone, an altered clone. A genetic experiment."

A castle. A Dragonite with a message. A storm. A battle. Pikachu refusing to fight another, identical Pikachu. A legendary pink Pokemon. Ash, a child, falling.

"This is how we first met." Mewtwo waved his arm. The images faded, but the blue light remained. "And this…this is what would have happened if I tried to stop infinity energy myself."

"…You can see the future?" Ash reached out to the images.

More fire. Lavender Town. Mewtwo, facing Giovanni. An explosion. Lavender Town, gone. Mewtwo, captured. A Master Ball.

News reports on the capture dangerous Pokemon. Pamphlets on how Pokemon cannot be trusted, stuffed under doors. Articles on the benefits of infinity energy. Pokemon "donation" centers in every town.

A weapon being built, being fired.

Mewtwo lowered his hand, and the images faded. The cavern became dark again, dimly lit only by the construction lights Brock had strung around the stalactites. "If I had stopped it, it would only be revenge. Pokemon against humans." He knelt to the ground in front of Pikachu, meeting her at eye-level. "It has to be you."

" _Me?"_

The clone smiled, which looked strange on such a stern face. "To borrow Ash's phrasing, you are the 'Chosen One.' But you won't 'almost-die.' I promise."

Pikachu glanced at Meowth, still in James's arms.

"It has to be you. Wartortle told you this a long time ago in a different way, and it is still true. You care for humans. You understand the bond between Pokemon and humans. You understand the thrill of battle. Most of all, you understand electricity."

" _I still—_ "

"You need this information to succeed: listen carefully. Attack Team Rocket Headquarters and Lavender Town at the same time, when the moon is right. But there is one more place you need to know about. The cottage on Route 25, north of Cerulean City. Pikachu, you must be there while others fight Team Rocket at their base and their outpost in Lavender Town."

"Bill's place? The computers?" Misty asked.

"Yes. If that is not destroyed, the infrastructure for infinity will keep getting rebuilt." Mewtwo stood, towering over the others, and picked up his cloak. "You can do this, Pikachu. There is a power inside of you."

She watched Mewtwo's figure grow smaller as he exited Rock Tunnel. In a flash, he disappeared, teleporting away.

* * *

 **Thank you guys for reading this far! If you have any reviews/comments/questions or just want to chat-let me know! I love hearing from you.**


	18. Marching On

Pikachu gasped and woke with a shock. Images of never-ending tunnels—the white tunnels beneath every city—faded from her mind, and her heart slowed. Ash's hand swatted towards her as he snored. It was still the middle of the night, though she couldn't tell what hour it was. Cracking her neck, she stretched, scratched her side, and tiptoed towards where the former members of Team Rocket slept.

James, dreaming, was mumbling something about Inkays and crime organizations from distant regions. Jessie was curled on her side, and she occasionally snored out a high pitched hum. Arbok's length circled the area, and Weezing was tipped over on its side. Meowth was there, too, resting to the side of James's head.

Her breath hitched as she waited for those familiar pin-pricks of electricity. They were there, and they were electricity, and maybe they were fainter than the first time she had felt his currents back in the summer. The signals in his heart were still sparking, though maybe a little uneven now. And his mind…there was electricity there, too. If only she could sense Aura like Ash—if only she could be able to feel more than just the presence of electricity. If only she could be able to just know that his soul was there just as his heartbeat was.

Meowth's face was blank, and his breath was shallow, but regular. Two months had passed since Mewtwo's visit. There were times that it seemed Meowth had drifted close to consciousness, only to sink back. Jessie and James dutifully monitored him, even as the others openly doubted if anything could be done. Time kept pushing forward, and everyone in Rock Tunnel had fallen into an uneasy routine of waiting. Pikachu led surveillance operations, gathering information on Bill's computer lab near Cerulean, finding out about Team Rocket's movements, trying to decipher what Mewtwo had meant about "when the moon is right."

She pushed herself off the ground and set off towards the entrance. Alakazam opened one eye as a greeting, and Psyduck tilted his head towards her. Wobbuffet sat against the wall of the cave, dozing. She walked out of the cave, and her fur bristled against the cold air. A few clouds obscured a portion of the stars, and Pikachu watched them drift in the sky, following the wind. Most of the trees were bare already—fall had flashed by. A cloud passed, and the moon emerged. It was almost-full, and it was yellow, and it appeared much larger than usual. She knew that tomorrow night it would be full, and her chest tightened as she realized that this is what Mewtwo was referring to.

Pikachu walked back, picking up an apple from Brock's stash of snacks as she walked by the Psychic-type guards. Plopping back down near Ash's sleeping back, she bit into it. There was no sense waking everyone up in the middle of the night, even if she was unable to sleep. Hours slipped by—she had tossed the core of the apple outside as Psyduck and Wobbuffet changed shifts. She could hear the rustling of Pokefeed bags as Brock prepared rations.

"Morning," Ash mumbled, waking up. "What's going on, Pikachu? You were getting up a lot last night."

Pikachu hesitated. _"I'll talk about it at breakfast."_ And when everyone was sitting down at one of Steelix's tables, she formulated the words. _"Everyone? Do you remember what Mewtwo said when he came by here?"_

Charizard laughed. _"The drama queen?"_

" _Yeah. The drama queen, Charizard."_ Pikachu rolled her eyes.

"He said something about the moon." James steepled his fingers.

Brock scratched his chin. "And the last harvest moon of the season is coming up tomorrow—"

"—You knew it was going to be a harvest moon and you didn't say anything!" Misty interrupted Brock. "You could have mentioned that earlier!"

"But every full moon in autumn is a 'harvest moon.'" Jessie frowned. "What makes this one so special?"

" _It's yellow, almost like gold. It just looks—it looks different."_ Pikachu sighed. _"It's hard to explain. But I know this is what he meant."_

Wartortle stood up. _"You mean we have to get ready to fight tonight?"_

The Pokemon and humans erupted into sound. Pikachu kept trying to speak over the noise, but she couldn't be heard over all the panic.

Venusaur roared, _"Quiet!"_ The echoes shook the cavern walls, and everyone stopped talking at once. _"We'll do what we need to do."_

" _Thanks."_ Pikachu stood on the table to give her some extra height. _"We'll have to divide ourselves up if we want to follow Mewtwo's plan."_

" _Can we really trust him though?"_ Lickitung asked.

A murmur spread as each Pokemon and human weighed this question for themselves.

"Hey—" Ash cleared his throat to gain attention. "Hey! Guys, calm down. Mewtwo's right. Pikachu's right. Think about it."

"What do you mean, Ash?" Brock looked at Misty, who shrugged in response.

"There are three places to target: the Lavender Town facility, Team Rocket Headquarters, and the lab at Bill's cottage. If we go to one, all together, sure, we could beat them. But then the other locations will be prepared for our arrival—they might even move the equipment we need to destroy. We'd end up defeated pretty quickly, and then we'd be on the run again."

Pikachu nodded. _"We have to attack tonight, and we all have to attack at the same time. There can't be any lag."_

" _So how are we gonna split up?"_ Wartortle leaned back, arms crossed against his chest.

"There's going to be the most force at Lavender Town, because they've been expecting us to attack there again. So most of us need to go there. Wartortle, Venusaur, Charizard." Ash paused. "You need to lead the effort there."

" _Got it."_ Charizard gave a salute with two fingers.

" _And I need to go to Bill's cottage."_ Pikachu wondered what exactly Mewtwo wanted her to do there, but she did trust that he was right.

"I'll come with you, Pikachu." Ash smiled.

"And I'll help the efforts at Lavender Town." Misty added.

"Ditto." Brock smiled and then looked at the group of Ditto gathered around the table. "Speaking of which, they should go to Lavender Town too. They're pretty helpful in battle."

"So that just leaves the Team Rocket base…" Ash looked at Jessie and James.

"Normally I'd say it's crazy to expect us to take down the whole base ourselves." Jessie's brows furrowed. "But this is personal. We'll take them down. From the inside."

"What about Meowth? Who'll look after him?" James looked back at his team member.

"I know someone who'll be up to it!" Ash put his hands behind his head. "Don't worry. He'll be in good hands."

Pikachu felt her stomach drop. She spoke again, but her voice was quieter. _"We'll teleport out with the Abra tonight at dusk. When the moon is completely out, we'll make our move."_

/

The day seemed too short at times, and then were moments when it felt as if the passage of time was dragging. When the sun began to set, Pikachu paced around the Abra that would teleport her and Ash. She stopped as she felt a pair of eyes watching her. Wartortle.

" _Hey."_

" _You're going to do great, Wartortle."_

" _Heh! I know!"_ He pumped a fist into the air.

Pikachu pulled her shoulders back and looked back at Wartortle, then Venusaur, then Charizard. _"You're all going to do great."_

Ash wiped tears from his face. "Take care of yourselves. We're gonna get back together as soon as we can. I believe in you!"

Venusaur stepped forward. _"We're going to end all this, Pikachu. Good luck in Cerulean."_

" _You too."_

The three of them, Psyduck, the Ditto, Alakazam, and all the other Pokemon recruits teleported with several Abra.

Misty threw her arms around Ash. "Be careful, okay!"

"You and Pikachu can accomplish anything. I know it."

Ash hugged them both. Misty and Brock waved as they teleported with another Abra.

Jessie watched their forms disappear. "That leaves us."

"Blasting off—" James gathered Arbok, Weezing, and Wobbuffet around an Abra. "We'll see you twerps later!"

Ash and Pikachu were left alone, with Meowth.

"Are you ready, Pikachu?"

" _Yeah."_


	19. Awakenings

Something prickly edged into Meowth's shoulder. He tried to lift himself up but found his arms weak. His eyes blinked open for a moment, and he groaned when the light stung. What was going on? _"What—? Who? Pika—_ Pikachu? Jimmy?" He heard footsteps and continued with a hoarse voice, "Jess? Please tell me dat's you."

"Oh my goodness! You did wake up!" There was a pause. "I thought I heard some meowing in here."

He opened his eyes and didn't recognize the woman standing before him. His voice spent, he whispered, "Meowin'? I don't know whatcha talkin' about, lady."

"I'm Delia, Ash's mom." She sat down next to the bed. The cat attempted to turn his head towards her, but he struggled with the effort required for such a movement. "He and Pikachu brought you in a few days ago. You've been in pretty rough shape!"

There was an IV line in his paw. Meowth attempted to take in the room in which he found himself. It was a small, well-kept home. The bed he was on was small, cozy, with a Pokeball-patterned comforter. Ash's room. Figurines of Pokemon dotted bookshelves, and a small, outdated television was perched on a dresser. Sunlight poured in the windows, and this Delia person was cheerful, still blabbing. No wonder Ash was such a goody two-shoes.

He coughed and managed to speak two words before his voice gave out again: "So what—"

"Oh! You must be pretty out of the loop! What happened—it's a long story. And here's some water." She lifted a glass to his face, and he managed to get a few sips. "I'll see if I can get it straight." She took a deep breath. "Ash told me about the infinity energy program. You were put into one of the machines, Gary got you out, something—um, weird—happened to your body. And then you didn't wake up." Delia smiled. "Until now!"

"How long—"

"A little over two months. Ash and Pikachu are on an important mission, and apparently there's a very large battle underway over in Lavender Town."

Meowth stiffened. Two months. And he wasn't dead. He gathered strength to prop himself up so he could look outside the window. It was true. He last remembered it being late summer, and now it looked like late fall. The trees were bare, and brown leaves covered the ground. He slid back down onto the bed, but something shiny caught his interest. The sharp object under his shoulder was now in view, and Meowth picked it up. It was one of James's treasured bottlecaps. "Jimmy."

"Your friends? Ash said they went to fight at Rocket Headquarters."

He closed his eyes.

"You know, I wish I had a way to tell Ash and Pikachu that you've woken up. They didn't take any phones or anything. Flying under the radar, I guess. But they were worried. I don't think I've seen Pikachu that worried before."

"Pikachu?"

She stood up. "Is there anything else I can get you? You like human food, right? Orange juice? Tea? You should probably eat something solid, too. What about some rice?"

/

Jessie, James, and their Pokemon materialized with an Abra in the tunnels beneath Team Rocket's headquarters. Jessie hummed the theme to her favorite spy movie to herself, but the tune trailed off. "Usually I'd be excited to be in the tunnels again, but this is just nerve-wracking."

"Tell me about it." James walked with his shoulders hunched forward. He pointed to a dark cylinder on a wall. "There's a camera there. Dodge it. We really should have teleported inside."

"And miss a dramatic entrance?" Jessie hugged the wall beneath the camera. "No way."

Arbok slithered ahead of the two humans and stopped in front of a white door with a small, square window. _"Like old times."_

" _Heh."_ Weezing coughed out a dry laugh.

James pushed on the door but paused to address the Abra. "You don't have to come with us…it will be dangerous. Can you meet us in the forest by the sign for Victory Road?"

The Abra nodded.

"Thank you so much." James held his breath for a second as he entered the stairwell. He then pulled a pristine rose from his pocket and inhaled its scent. "I've been waiting for this. Let's go."

Reaching the ground floor, Jessie and James stood back-to-back in the marble lobby.

"Prepare for trouble."

"And make it double."

Their words echoed, and heads turned.

A familiar voice responded, "Not these clowns again."

"Oh! Cassidy, always lovely to see you…and Biff—"

"—Butch."

"Uh-huh." Jessie folded her arms against her chest. "Do us a favor. Just tell us where Giovanni is, and we won't cause too much trouble here. For old times' sake."

"You mean World Leader Giovanni." Cassidy smirked. "Like we'd tell you two traitors. Like we'd even know where such an important person is." She shrugged. "But he's not even here, anyway."

James twirled the rose in his fingers. "Weezing, give us some cover."

A smokescreen filled the lobby.

Jessie knelt to Wobbuffet's level. "Is Giovanni in this building?"

Wobbuffet squinted in concentration. _"The roof!"_ His arms extended towards the ceiling.

"Looks like we're going up. Arbok, poison sting! James, let's go!"

They ran to the elevators and punched the button multiple times.

"Come on, come on…" James bounced on the balls of his feet.

The elevator door opened. Jessie pushed James inside, and the Pokemon followed her. Teeth clenched, she jiggled an old key into a spot near a button labeled "ROOF ACCESS." "If they changed the locks, I swear I'll—"

The car began accelerating upwards with tinkling smooth jazz coming through the speakers. Wobbuffet bounced to the beat, and Arbok bobbed his head. Weezing rolled his eyes. Jessie and James stood still, staring straight ahead to the polished elevator doors.

The music was interrupted by a chime, and the doors slid open. A cold wind blew. A roaring sound filled the sky. James pointed upwards. It was the Prime Minister's—no, Giovanni's—helicopter. Jessie screamed something, but the chopper drowned out her words.

"What?" James yelled.

"I said, he's going to get away!"

" _Duh."_ Weezing tilted his whole, floating body up to watch the helicopter.

"Weezing. Arbok." James steepled his fingers. "I want you to blast us off."

Jessie stepped back. "What!?"

"It's the only way we'll catch him."

" _You want us to—_ " Arbok looked to Weezing.

"Attack us. Blast us off."

Arbok and Weezing shook their heads.

"Do it for Meowth."

" _You know, he was a terrible manager."_ Arbok tilted his head.

Weezing coughed out a laugh. _"Eh, he grew on you."_

Jessie pinched the bridge of her nose. "Just do it, okay!"

" _Yeah, and when we left you guys behind in Hoenn, it took us ten years to find you."_ Arbok shook his head again.

James scratched Weezing under his chin as he addressed Arbok. "If that's about getting separated, we'll find each other. Sooner this time. We'll meet at Rock Tunnel when all is said and done."

Jessie leaned forward and patted Arbok on the head. "That's right. We'll be back together in no time."

"So please—blast us off. Aim us towards Giovanni." James squinted to see the aircraft fading in the distance. "We're running out of time."

Arbok and Weezing counted down uneasily. _"3…2…1…"_ They rushed forward together, pummeling the humans off the building and upwards.

"We're blasting off again!"

There was a twinkle in the sky.

/

A light snow had begun to fall in Lavender Town. Clusters of humans and Pokemon teleported in, one-by-one in front of Pokemon Tower.

" _Well this isn't good."_ Wartortle took off his sunglasses as he spun around. A circle of tanks lined the perimeter of the property. Officers Jenny, government soldiers, and Team Rocket grunts stood in formation.

"Hey!" An Officer Jenny with a megaphone stood on top of a tank. "You are surrounded! Surrender now, or prepare to fight."

Brock scratched his head. "I could swear that sounds familiar…"

A laugh shook the ground. _"Surrender? Us?"_ Charizard stretched out his wings and spat out fire towards the Officer Jenny. _"Hell no!"_

" _Charizard!"_ __Venusaur gave an exasperated sigh.

" _What?"_

The loud pops of hundreds of bullets echoed. _"That."_ Venusaur held a vine up to his head.

" _Oh. Oh crap. Oh crap oh crap. Okay I got this. Hold on."_ Charizard flew up and over the bunch of Ditto. _"Guys! Guys! Turn into me! Right now."_

Dozens of Charizard were now in the air, combining dragon rage attacks into a single, powerful beam aimed at the largest formation of the army before them. A Dragonite's hyper beam met the blast, causing an explosion.

Misty's ears rang with a high pitched whine. Then, she was floating. Blinking, she looked down at her feet, which hovered over a shaking ground. Someone had used an earthquake attack. Everyone else around her was also several inches off the ground. The ground grew still again, and her feet touched the ground again. She knelt down and crawled over to Brock, whose arms covered his head.

A disembodied voice echoed: _"Do not worry. I foresaw that coming."_

Misty and Brock saw Alakazam, calm as ever, spin twisted spoons in his gnarled hands.

"Do you have a plan?" Misty grabbed Brock's shoulder.

He shook his head. "I'm trying to think of one."

Meanwhile, Charizard and the Ditto-Charizard flew together as a swarm, barely missing another hyper beam attack from a Team Rocket Nidoqueen.

" _You are so lucky! Do you know that?"_ Wartortle called out to Charizard.

Charizard responded between flamethrowers. _"I know."_

Venusaur spotted Wartortle across the battlefield and galloped towards him. _"Wartortle, listen."_ Venusaur cleared his throat. _"There's no way we'll get forward like this. I'm gonna dig under the tanks and take them out."_

" _Wait."_ Wartortle squinted at Charizard and his mini-army. _"We have more Ditto than that."_

" _Yeah, the rest took after a Golbat and are fighting that way."_ Vensuaur pointed west with a vine.

" _You need cover."_ The small turtle sighed. _"I can weave through there and get them to you. Stay here. Don't go on your own. Don't pull anything."_

" _I won't."_

In a flash, Wartortle had sprinted to the western front and returned with another pocket of Ditto. _"One—"_ He was out of breath, hunched over. _"—One of the Ditto wanted to stay as a Golbat. But the others—"_ Wartortle sucked in air. _"—they—they're up for helping you out."_

" _Take it easy."_ Venusaur inhaled as he met the eyes of the Ditto as they transformed into copies of him. _"Thanks, you guys. We're gonna dig under the tanks. Are you ready to go?"_

The clones nodded.

" _Let's go, then."_ Venusaur nodded to Wartortle, and Wartortle returned the gesture with a thumbs-up.

Misty had been spitting out ideas for strategies with Brock when her words slowed. "And any Rock-types can handle their Growlithe…their Ditto that are Growlithe…"

"Right." Brock folded his arms over his chest.

"…their Ditto…" Misty groaned. "The manual! Did you get the manual!"

"What?"

"The manual for the Jennies and Ditto and Joys! From the tunnels!"

Brock's mouth dropped open. "…the manual."

"We should have gotten the manual." She crawled to a blur of yellow—Psyduck—and grabbed his wing. "Psyduck, I need you to come with me."

" _Sure."_

"Starmie!" Misty called out to the Psychic-type on the front lines. "Stay here! Find Corsola and keep an eye on her! I'll be back." Misty stood up. "Brock, you'll do great."

"Stay safe."

"I will." As Misty scooped up her backpack, Togekiss swooped down. "Togekiss, I'm so glad to see you!"

Togekiss chirped in response, saying nothing, but her eyes were filled with worry.

"Togekiss—get anybody else who's available, who can fly—get them to the top of Pokemon Tower. It's a height advantage. I have to go. Be careful!" Misty started crawling toward the front line with Psyduck.

Togekiss whispered as she watched her trainer disappear into the fray. _"…But Pokemon Tower's a grave! It shouldn't be disturbed."_

Wartortle walked up to the bird's side. _"There will be a lot more graves if we don't win this."_

/

"Thanks, Abra." Ash let go of the Pokemon. "It should be straight ahead. We'll see you later, Abra!"

Pikachu nodded at the Psychic-type. _"Let's get going."_

"So this is the Bill, right? As in, the computer genius?" Ash looked around the property. There was a white cottage with dark blue shutters. There were several sheds in locations throughout a well-manicured garden. "He must be pretty modest, then."

Pikachu's tail stood up straight. _"Those sheds...have a lot of electronics in them."_

"You would think there'd be guards, or something."Ash stepped up the cottage's entrance, wiped his feet on a welcome mat that read "Home Sweet Home," and knocked on the door.

" _Why did you knock on the door!? Ash!"_

Ash's eyes went wide as he realized what he had done. He then shrugged. "Habit."


	20. Words

"Where's an Abra when you need one…" Misty muttered under her breath.

Psyduck crawled beside her on the cold ground.

"You don't happen to know how to dig, do you?"

" _Nope."_

"Of course."

A projectile grazed Misty's hair—it was a bullet seed from an enemy Victreebel. There was no way out; she was stuck in a mess of paws and fins and wings and boots. Psyduck had disappeared. Had he been hit by an attack? Misty searched the chaos and found a flash of yellow. An injured Sandshrew. A quick apology, and then, off in the distance, a familiar head tilt. Psyduck found a way out.

Misty dragged herself forward with her arms, keeping herself as close to the dirt as possible as she got closer and closer to Psyduck. A Rattata had stepped on her—over her—digging its claws into her back. Gritting her teeth, she progressed past the front lines of the battle.

Psyduck waved his arms then pointed towards a trail in the woods. He started waddling in that direction.

"Just a sec." Misty leaned against a tree, struggling to catch her breath, which fogged in the cold. "You're sure it's clear?"

" _Yep."_ The yellow duck continued walking on the trail and swished his tail feathers in response.

The bare trees hid them well. Rock Tunnel came into view, and Misty stepped back. She whispered, "Is there anyone in there?"

" _Nope."_

"Guess I'll have to take your word for it."

Sure enough, it was deserted, and their footsteps echoed throughout the space. Ears ringing in the silence of the main cavern, Misty searched frantically for the dog-eared booklet. She uprooted the communications equipment, each metallic clang reverberating. Notebooks thrown.

Buried under papers, walkie-talkies, and ringed with coffee stains, the manual peeked out from under a manila folder. Misty grabbed it and quickly flipped through its pages, finding the glossary of codes that could be used on Officers Jenny and Nurses Joy.

"'Code miracleberry.' A reset. That's the one we want."

Psyduck watched as Misty shoved aside the mess of walkie-talkies to grab a red and white megaphone. She poked her head out of the communications nook, and she stepped on something that crunched. Lifting up her shoe and inspecting it, she looked to the ground to find a letter—one of Gary's letters. Ash must have dropped it. Misty walked around it and jogged to catch up to Psyduck, who was already walking out of Rock Tunnel.

/

Venusaur had to admit the Ditto were pretty good. They didn't talk, but Venusaur was a quiet type himself and didn't mind the silence. He was flanked by five Ditto, identical copies of himself, though he couldn't see them in the dark.

" _Guys, we want to stay deep until we're sure we're under the tanks."_

Underneath twenty feet of earth, the only reminders of battle were an occasional rumble which would shake clumps of dirt loose from Venusaur's path. The tunnels they were creating were narrow, hugging their bodies. Venusaur would occasionally clear his throat to remind himself that he wasn't suffocating.

" _Did you hear that?"_

The Ditto did not say a word, but Venusaur could hear them scraping transformed claws against rocks beside him.

" _Sounded like a hyper beam."_

The dark world Venusaur found himself in began humming. The effect made his feet feel numb, and the vibrations grew as they dug forward.

" _Must be the tank engines. We're close. Start to dig upwards."_

They did, and the humming grew louder. Venusaur heard one Ditto scratch metal. He kept digging, breaking through the surface and hitting a sheet of metal as well. Ducking back down, he worked his way outward from the tank to create a pit that it would fall into.

Venusaur rubbed the sweat off his brow and winced at how little progress he had made over an hour. This would take time.

/

They landed on the windshield. Jessie made eye contact with the pilot, who plunged at the controls, tipping the helicopter forward. James reached for Jessie's hand as she started sliding across the glass. And then there was a thump.

" _Hi!"_

"Wobbuffet? How—"

" _I grabbed on!"_

Jessie yelled over the roaring propeller. "We've got to get into the cabin!"

James attempted to kick in a side window. "They're shatterproof!"

Without flinching, Wobbuffet easily punched in the window, sliding inside the cabin and pulling Jessie and James in with him.

"What the hell are you two doing?!" Giovanni screamed in anger.

"What do you think we're doing?" Jessie pinned him against the seat, her forearm blocking him from moving forward. "We're taking you down."

James fought the pilot for the controls. The helicopter accelerated downwards in a spiral. The pilot edged James in the shoulder, and James caught a glimpse of his face.

"Mondo?"

The pilot paused for a moment. "James?" Recognition washed over his face. "Look at you! You look so different without the uniform!" Mondo took control of the helicopter again, leveling the aircraft from its descent. "How have you been? We all figured you'd been iced by now."

"Oh, well, you know we've been trying to take down Team Rocket from the outside, trying to save all Pokemon, stuff like that." James crossed his legs and leaned back. "And look at yourself! A pilot! For the boss!"

"Yeah, the pay's pretty decent."

"Mondo!" Giovanni bellowed. "Stop chitchatting with the enemy, or you're dead!"

Jessie rolled her eyes. "James…"

"Oh right." James cleared his throat. "So, Mondo. We're just trying to stop the infinity energy program."

"The what-now?"

"We'll tell you more at a…more convenient…time, but, uh, just know it kills Pokemon, and Team Rocket's involved. As is our 'Earth Leader.'"

"Boss, is that true?"

"Mondo! You're fired!"

"Look at that. Guess I'm free to help you guys now." Mondo looked behind his shoulder and grinned at Giovanni, giving his former boss a thumbs-up. "Let's land this thing."

"What! I'll have you—"

Jessie moved her forearm closer to her former superior's throat. "Put a cork in it, boss."

"No." Giovanni freed one of his arms and pressed a pistol against Jessie's neck. "The helicopter lands, or she dies."

"James—"

"Wobbuffet!"

" _On it."_

Wobbuffet, in a single motion, twisted and took Jessie's place. His blue skin gleamed with a pink reflection.

"Mirror coat. Shoot, and you die."

Giovanni returned the pistol into his coat's pocket. "Hmm. Well played." He took a deep breath and puffed out his chest. "What do you want?"

Jessie spoke deliberately. "We want to end the infinity energy program. And: we want you to resign. Forever."

"That won't happen."

Mondo piped up as he brought the helicopter to a lower altitude. "You're not in a position to negotiate, boss."

"This is how it will work—if you don't want to get roughed up." Jessie counted on her fingers. "One, you will take us to your office at HQ. Two, you will notify the government of your resignation in our presence. And three, you will end Team Rocket."

Giovanni's shoulders slumped. "Take us to HQ, Mondo."

/

Meowth was itching to get out of the Ketchum house—a cluttered, primary-colored hell—but too dizzy to do anything but sit upright.

Mr. Mime was fussing over him again. The guy was creepy. He would watch Meowth as he slept, waving those strange hands in the air as he announced himself.

" _Mr. Mime."_

"I know who you are."

" _Mr. Mime."_

"Cut it out." Meowth called out, "Delia!"

"Yes?" She entered the room. "What's the matter, Meowth?"

"Someting is seriously wrong wit your Mr. Mime."

" _Mr. Mime."_

"What could be wrong with Mimey? He's wonderful."

"He's…he's an idiot."

"Meowth!"

"Look Delia, it's hard ta hear, but all he says is his—"

" _Mr. Mime."_

"—his name."

"Oh no!" Delia rushed over to Meowth's bedside and placed a hand on his forehead. "You've…you've lost the ability to speak to Pokemon!"

"No I haven't, Delia."

She shook her head and frowned. "Denial will make it so much harder." 

"Delia. I can hear da Pidgey and Spearow talking outside in da trees. Your Mr. Mime…is just…" He trailed off, realizing that this was going to be a losing battle.

"Did you want anything?" Her voice was colder.

Meowth paused, taken aback. "I'd like ta be alone for a while."

"Sure. Come on, Mimey."

" _Mister Mime."_

Delia shut the door behind her.

Meowth slumped back down and turned on his side. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep but gave up after a few minutes. The gnawing soreness that had been present ever since he woke up tugged at his mind. He distracted himself by reading the titles of the books that lined Ash's bookshelf.

 _Pokemon and You. A Guide to Type Strengths and Weaknesses. Secrets of the Pokemon League._

He wondered if a Pokemon had ever written a book. Probably not; he was, it seemed, the only Pokemon that knew how to read. And even, then, he could never hold a pen well enough in his paws to draw out the human letters and characters. He had paws, not hands.

Picking up a ballpoint pen left on the nightstand, Meowth clumsily clicked it open and closed. He set the pen down and stared at his right paw. He extended a single claw, then retracted it. He blinked.

"Delia? Can ya hear me?"

"What?" Delia opened the door and poked her head into the room.

"You got paper? Blank paper."

"You are a very strange cat."

"Please."

"Yeah, hold on." Delia left for a minute and returned with a stack of white paper. "Here…no idea why you'd need this, though."

"T'ank you."

"Let me know if you need anything else…" She left, shaking her head.

Meowth picked up the ballpoint pen again and opened it with his teeth. He slid out the plastic tube containing blue ink.

"Bingo."

Extending one claw, he dipped it into the ink and began to scratch out simple marks on the paper. A new alphabet.

/

The door was opened by a graying man in a blue polo shirt.

"Who's knocking at this hour?" Professor Oak sat at a kitchen table.

"It's—" Bill stumbled over his words.

Ash stepped around him, Pikachu on his shoulder.

Her cheeks sparked. _"Where is it?"_

Bill looked to Oak, who shook his head. "I don't know what it's saying."

"Where is it." Ash repeated her words.

"Where is what, Ash?" Oak stood up.

" _Just tell us."_

Bill turned to Oak. "I bet they're after the server cluster. It's the only valuable thing here."

Pikachu spoke into Ash's ear: _"That's what Mewtwo must have been talking about."_

Ash crossed his arms over his chest. "We don't want to hurt anybody. We just want to stop the program."

"Come in. Let's talk about it," Bill sighed.

As Ash and Pikachu entered, Oak sat back down at the kitchen table, propping his head up on his hands. "You're making a terrible mistake."

Bill looked at Ash, then Pikachu. "Do you know what will happen if there's no infinity energy?"

" _No more Pokemon will be used for it."_

"Our civilization will collapse. We're so dependent on technology, that— _"_

Oak finished Bill's sentence. "—It's the only thing keeping our world together." His voice rose slightly. "You saw how once you interrupted the supply of infinity energy, Giovanni became Prime Minister—and cracked down hard. Curfews. Propaganda. There was a need for control. The old Prime Minister was too soft, and Giovanni, well…"

"He did what Giovanni does best." Bill drummed his fingers against the table. "It's not right, but as long as there isn't another war…"

"The war was caused by the energy crisis. When resources were scarce…" Oak tilted his head. "…Humans did the best we could with what we had."

" _That was the humans' problem. It had nothing to do with Pokemon."_ Pikachu nodded. _"And now there's a new war going on right now because of infinity energy. Or does that not count, since the casualties are Pokemon and clones?"_

"As the world's foremost computer scientist, I have to warn you that ending the program will have consequences." Bill gave a sideways glance towards the door. "I can't stop you, but—please—don't do this."

"Ash, Pikachu—" Oak held out his hands.

Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder as he stood up. They left the cottage without saying anything.

" _They don't need to tell us where the servers are. There's so much power now…it's like a trail."_


	21. Explosions

**AN:** Apologies for the delay - life got hectic. I hope this chapter is worth the wait! Thank you for reading. :)

* * *

The helicopter landed back on top of Team Rocket Headquarters. Wobbuffet, still shining with a mirror coat, circled around Giovanni, keeping a watchful eye on the Earth Leader. Jessie stood behind her former boss, pressing his own pistol into his back. Mondo and James walked together behind, hands in pockets. Mondo shared Team Rocket gossip and what had happened since Jessie, James, and Meowth had left the organization.

"—And you remember Steve, the actuary? Iced."

"No!" James gasped.

"Yep. Questioned the old Prime Minister's life insurance policy…"

"So everything was strict after he became 'Earth Leader' then."

"It was awful."

Giovanni huffed and gestured towards himself. "Watch it! I'm right here!"

Mondo ignored him. "And then he made us start bowing to him whenever he entered a room…said it was for morale."

Giovanni sighed and stopped, letting the pistol dig into him. "You make it sound so horrible, Mondo." After a push from Jessie, he started walking again. "Our profits were never better."

Mondo paused to press his thumb onto a scanner beside a solid-looking door. A green light blinked, a click sounded, and Mondo held the door open, bowing towards Giovanni. "After you."

"Wise-ass."

"Your office, sir." Mondo bowed again.

"Fine." Giovanni stepped through the threshold, waiting to be pushed forward. He turned his head. "Well, are you going to come in or not?"

Jessie glanced at James, who nodded his head. James stepped in, followed by Jessie, Mondo, and Wobbuffet.

" _Nice place!"_ Wobbuffet remarked to no one in particular.

The office was lavish. The carpet was a plush, a deep red, with exotic potted plants lining the walls. Fine pens and stationery were carefully placed on his desk, and a brass lamp illuminated a dark paperweight in the shape of an obelisk. Giovanni, back turned to his captors, sighed.

Jessie followed Giovanni as he walked to the other side of his desk, still pressing the gun against his back. "Now make a call to the Parliament. And resign."

"Whatever you say."

James leaned forward. "Where's his phone?"

Mondo gestured towards the obelisk paperweight. Giovanni, flicked it over, and a video projection rose from the desk.

Giovanni smirked. "Computer: Initiate Rock Slide Alpha for One, Confirmation Nidoqueen-4—"

"Stop him!" Mondo lunged towards the desk. "He'll kill us all!"

Jessie pulled the trigger only to realize the cartridge was empty. She dropped the gun in disbelief.

"—And initiate HQ Lockdown and Self-Destruct, Confirmation Persian-8-Alpha…"

The floor opened up beneath Giovanni and Giovanni alone. Before dropping out of view, his eyes lit up with pure delight. Just as quickly as the panel in the floor disappeared, it reappeared. The door to Giovanni's office then slid shut and locked automatically. A red light flashed from a single bulb above the door.

A robotic voice spoke through the video projection. "Lockdown complete. Self-destruct in fifteen seconds…"

Mondo slid over the desk, knocking down the lamp, and started clawing at the carpet.

"…ten seconds…"

James tapped the video projection and sputtered, "Uh, Rock Slide Alpha for—"

"…nine…Confirmation Persian-8-Alpha prevents further adjustments…seven…"

Jessie hugged Wobbuffet and shouted, "Counter! Mirror coat! Safeguard! Anything, please! Just do it!"

"…four…"

With one arm, Jessie yanked James behind her, and James pulled Mondo beside him.

"…three…two…one…" A siren wailed through the room, and then, fire.

In a matter of seconds, the skyscraper that had been home to Team Rocket operations for decades was reduced to rubble.

A piece of the wreckage shook, and then a shock of blue jumped out.

James, a thin trail of smoke billowing out behind him, crawled out behind Wobbuffet and said, "That was close."

"You're telling me." Jessie licked her fingers and pressed them against one of James's wayward hairs which was glowing with hot ash.

Mondo stuttered, the words were incomprehensible. Flabbergasted, he sat down on a large piece of debris, holding his head in his hands.

/

Misty's shouts of "Code Miracleberry" through a megaphone had turned the tide of the battle. The Officers Jenny started wandering away from the field, dazed, and the enemy Ditto returned to their base form. The tanks continued firing, and the soldiers continued advancing, but their intensity was less than before. The rare non-Ditto Pokemon in their ranks attacked only sporadically, and the opposing hyper beams and earthquakes didn't do much damage thanks to Alakazam's force field.

Charizard was in his element, weaving through Pokemon and humans alike, landing accurate blasts. Each lick of flame scattered the confused Officers Jenny and separated the soldiers from their stockpiles of ammunition. Venusaur, still underground with his Ditto copies, had sunk several tanks. A trail of disturbed earth traced his path. Wartortle stood on the front lines, informing others of shifting strategies.

A small group huddled around the turtle, who spoke forcefully. _"Okay, now that we've got the upper hand, we're going to concentrate on taking down the big attackers one-by-one. Like that Team Rocket Dragonite…"_ His voice trailed off as the Dragonite in question charged a hyper beam.

The white light screeched across the sky, arcing above the battle—and Alakazam's force field. It fell back down, gaining speed. There was a tiny sound, a single blip, as it slipped through the force field and neared its intended target.

Wartortle shouted, but there was nothing that could stop the attack at this point. _"Alakazam!"_

Brock kneeled over an injured Marill behind Alakazam. He had set up a medic tent of sorts here, guarded by the powerful psychic-type. Brock's hands slowed. He stopped dressing the Marill's wound and rose as a bright light approached.

The hyper beam hit Alakazam right between his eyes. Alakazam, dropping his spoons into the mud, fell over in a heap. The protective force field dissipated. Bullets and attacks from enemy Pokemon started landing, and the ground shook every few seconds from consecutive earthquake attacks.

"Not good…" Brock scooped up the Marill and another injured Pokemon, an Aipom. He ducked and ran towards the forest. "Let's go!" Dozens of Pokemon followed him, dragging their wounded friends behind them.

Wartortle gritted his teeth and released a hydro pump attack towards the Team Rocket Nidoqueen, the source of the earthquakes. She dodged his attack and retaliated with yet another earthquake, which knocked Wartortle off his feet. He tried to land another water attack on her only to be hit again. Wartortle got up again and again, but each time, he was hit. And each time, his attacks—and his stance—got weaker.

Charizard only noticed that Alakazam's force field had disappeared when a bullet nicked the edge of his wing. Hissing in pain, he dove towards the soldiers firing at him. Flames erupted from his nostrils. Another bullet hit his wing. And another. Charizard attempted to sweep fire across the soldiers' formation, but he could not control his flight. He was falling.

As his some of his allies mounted last-ditch attacks and others fled the battlefield, Psyduck kept walking forward. He passed Misty, whose voice had gone hoarse from shouting out the names of attacks. He passed an Abra, who, in a panic, was teleporting to random locations on the battlefield, blinking in and out of his vision. He passed another human on their side, hidden from the battle, curled into a ball behind the remains of a destroyed building. Psyduck tilted his head as he reached the front.

He began to glow. It wasn't a concentrated glow, like that of a hyper beam. The light surrounded his whole body. The Earth's pull no longer had any effect on him, and he floated a few feet into the air. Psyduck was no longer yellow; he was gold, radiant as any Ho-Oh. Just at the point where the light obscured Psyduck's form, it grew in size, expanding out towards the soldiers and the tanks.

The world turned white. Sight no longer meant anything. Then, a sound shook the Earth, an echoing crack that seemed to clap reality itself, and sound no longer meant anything. The silence afterwards lingered.

But, in time, the light began to fade. The shells of destroyed tanks were revealed, as was the resulting carnage to the soldiers and Team Rocket affiliates. Smoke trailed from the ground, and the air stank from burning plastic and metal. One by one, Pokemon and their human allies became aware of their surroundings once more, shaking their heads to try and regain their senses.

Misty struggled to hear her own voice over the ringing in her ears. "Did…did Psyduck just explode?" She whispered to a Lickitung who sat down beside her. "Are we dead? Is this...real?" She examined her hands to make sure they existed. To make sure that Psyduck's explosion wasn't the result of a near-death hallucination.

" _Beats me,"_ the Lickitung said. The pink Pokemon retracted her tongue to clear it from the taste of ash.

Charizard's eyes lit up at the sight of the destroyed tanks, and he roared in triumph even while clutching his wings and wincing. _"Yeah! We did it!"_

But Wartortle frowned. He limped forward toward the tanks and started digging underneath. He brushed dirt away from a green leg, which twitched in response. _"Oh thank—"_ The leg started turning purple and losing detail. In Wartortle's claws, it became slime. He recoiled. A Ditto stared back at him.

Wartortle scanned the brown and grey for any hint of Venusaur. He dug and dug, shoveling piles of dirt the size of his body. He then tripped over something—someone. Someone dead.

Charizard walked up next to him. _"What are you doing?"_

Wartortle didn't respond.

" _Oh. No. Oh. Oh…the explosion…"_ Charizard reached out towards his friend.

" _The explosion."_

" _But wait…Alakazam was hurt and out of it. Who—who exploded?"_

Wartortle crossed his arms, staying close to Venusaur's body. _"Psyduck, I think. He didn't know—"_

" _Venusaur…"_

A small distance away, a powerful-looking Golduck, hands on its head, lied unconscious.

/

Each branch in Bill's garden was lined with a light dusting of snow that gleamed blue in the moonlight.

" _It's all below us."_ Pikachu closed her eyes and felt a grid of electrical lines running beneath her feet, leading to stories of power, organized and housed in cubes.

"There's gotta be a way to get in." Ash shrugged and pointed to a small shed with a door at the corner of the property. "That'd do it."

They walked across to that door, stepping on half-frozen vines and shrubs along the way. Ash then attempted to open the door.

" _You really think it would be unlocked?"_

"Heh." Ash smiled before ramming into the door full-force. It wouldn't budge.

" _I got it."_ The door was locked electronically, a security system with a sensor on the upper right hand side. Pikachu shot out a controlled thundershock at it. The device whined in a high pitch, and the lock clicked.

"You make it look easy." Ash turned the knob, revealing a brightly lit staircase.

Descending the stairs, Pikachu and Ash were met by the hum of a functioning ventilation system. Rows of servers spread out like a labyrinth. Pikachu fried each one they passed. Ash's sneakers squeaked against the immaculate floor.

" _There's got to be more than this…can you sense anything? An Aura?"_

"Me? There's no life down here that I can tell." He paused. "Uh, there's a flicker of something, but I don't even know if it's real or I'm just feeling things. It's almost like a ghost. I'm probably just making it up. I don't know."

" _Weird."_

"This is all really weird, Pikachu."

The data center seemed to stretch on forever. Hours passed as they wandered through, and Pikachu began to wear out from shocking so much equipment. Out of breath, she propped herself up against a server. She concentrated on the electricity only inches away from her back. She followed its path as it snaked through the floor and consolidated in another device.

But this device—a solid black cylinder—wasn't a server. And the electricity changed somehow within it. The electricity outside and inside this cylinder seemed to be of different types. Pikachu shook herself of the thought: electricity was electricity, and that was that. She had never felt electricity having something like a color to it before.

" _I have to go in there."_

Ash nodded and stepped back. Pikachu stood still, cheeks bristling with static, feeling for what to do. Without realizing it, she had surrounded herself with a powerful electric field. And then she put one foot forward and sniffed the air. Another foot. After a few steps, she had slipped through a solid wall, into the center of the power structure. As she felt herself transform into something not-physical but not-energy, she wondered—just for a second—if this was what it was like for Porygon who went online.

In here, Pikachu's sight was the same whether her eyes were open or not. But it wasn't dark. She wasn't blind. No. The separation of charges was clear all around her, bright as day, bright as lightning.

A long beam, lightning-like, stretched before her. There were no ends to it. As Pikachu approached it, the beam displayed…types…of electricity. One color would flash occasionally, then the other. One type, color, kind, of electricity oscillated evenly, its amplitude tightly controlled. The other seemed wild, untamed, and would move in an unpredictable wave. Like Meowth's heartbeat. Like a Pokemon's heartbeat.

Pikachu put her paw up to the beam and felt the urge to pull it apart. She felt silly, like a human child playing cat's cradle except with unbridled power, but continued stretching the charges away from each other.

Something must have happened because Pikachu couldn't see any more, and she was solid. She felt her own solid weight standing up on the cool floor.

Ash covered his head as the black cylinder exploded into shrapnel. An arc of electricity shot through the ceiling and ripped it apart. It had opened up the ground above them, dusting the servers with plaster and clay and dirt. Moonlight seeped through the opening.

There was another arc rising from where the cylinder once stood, where Pikachu now stood. It was red and light and it shot up into the sky, circling around the moon.


	22. Shot Down

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, guys! I've been looking for a new job, and it's been eating up a lot of my time.**

 **05/23/2016: Just realized I had a big continuity error...I forgot about Wobbuffet. :( He's in here now.**

* * *

The Abra Jessie and James had left behind in the woods teleported into view, levitating in front of the rubble that used to be Team Rocket Headquarters.

"Wish you had shown up when we were inside the building…" Jessie dusted off her shoulders, her shirt marred by singe marks.

"But still good timing!" James put his hand to the Abra's head. "Can you take us back to Rock Tunnel?"

"So this is how you guys have been getting around!" Mondo shook his head. "I can't believe it. Giovanni had us all convinced that you were using cutting-edge technology to avoid detection."

Jessie put Mondo's hand on the Abra's back. "No. This is pretty much it." She then held on to the Abra's foot. "We're ready when you are, Abra!"

" _Let's go!"_ Wobbuffet saluted the small psychic-type.

In a flash, the four landed in Rock Tunnel. The Abra winked out again, leaving them on their own. Their footsteps echoed through the cavern.

James put his hands in his pockets. "It's really quiet in here…do you think they're all still battling?"

A small voice called out from a distant corner. "Get a load a you two!"

"Meowth!" Jessie and James ran over to the source of the voice and hugged him, leaving Mondo behind.

James mussed up the fur on Meowth's head. "Geez, get a load of yourself." Meowth seemed smaller, scrawny, and James pulled back. "How long have you been awake? How is—?"

Wobbuffet picked up the cat in a tight hug.

"Nice to see you too." The cat sat down with a slight wince, a little out of breath. "A week or two. And, uh, I've been better, heh." He squinted at Jessie and James and gestured towards their disheveled state. "But what's all dis?"

"Headquarters blew up." Jessie crossed her arms and leaned back against the cavern wall. "Mondo's here too."

"Hi Meowth!" Mondo called, waving as he walked closer.

He waved a paw back in greeting. "So you stopped da boss? Da t'ree a ya? Wow."

"Ehh, not exactly," James mumbled.

"Whaddya mean, 'not exactly'"?

"He…" James took a deep breath and spat out the rest of the words. "He, uh, he escaped and left us for dead."

"Got away scot-free…" Jessie leaned forward and flipped through a notebook that was flipped open next to Meowth. Each page was filled with hundreds of slash-like symbols. "What's this?"

Meowth grinned. "Dat...dat is somet'ing I've been working on." He picked up the notebook. "Check it out. An alphabet for Pokemon. It's hard for us ta write da human letters, ya know."

James put his finger to the markings. "You did all this? While, you know—"

"Good distraction. It's not like I had anyt'ing else ta do." Meowth leaned back, arms behind his head. "The Ketchum lady—Delia—was nice an' all, but it's nice ta be outta dat bed. I actually just got here about an hour ago. We drove here through Cerulean, very scenic."

"So you didn't see the battle, either." James looked back towards Rock Tunnel's entrance.

"What battle? Is dat where everybody is?"

Jessie nodded. "Almost everybody. Ash and Pikachu are on a special mission in Cerulean."

"Cerulean! I was just there! Woulda been nice if someone had dropped off my walkie-talkies in Pallet." Meowth drummed his paws against a rock. "So are ya gonna get Giovanni? I gotsa score to settle wit him."

"Of course we will." James rubbed his chin, eyes closed in thought.

One corner of Jessie's mouth turned upwards in a half-smile. "Are we known for giving up?"

Mondo raised his hand as if he was asking a question in a classroom. "Sorry to interrupt, but…the man literally gets away with murder. All the time. What makes you think you can find him?"

Meowth shrugged. "I dunno. Where would an ex-mega-crime boss hide out?"

Eyes widened in realization, Jessie and James turned to each other and answered in unison: "Cinnabar Island."

"Well, let's go then. No point in losing momentum." Jessie stretched. "I just want to grab a few things."

"You guys really don't stop, do you? We just got blown up!" Mondo shook his head and raised his hands in desperation. "Can we at least get the night off?"

"You don't have to go if you don't want to." James clapped Mondo on the back.

"I kind of do want to go..."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Jessie stood before them, carrying a backpack and duffel bag. She started heading out of the cave, her mutters echoing, "Where is that Abra…"

The three humans and Wobbuffet began to walk towards the entrance of Rock Tunnel, but Meowth lingered. He struggled standing up.

As the Abra appeared before him, James stopped and called back into the cave. "Meowth, are you sure you're up for this?"

"Absolutely." Meowth broke into a slow, unsteady jog to catch up.

Would this—heaviness—ever leave? Ever since he had woken up in the Ketchum home, he had felt as if gravity had decided to be particularly cruel to him. Even breathing required more effort.

What would have happened if he had never answered Pikachu's call? Or, if he had just said, "No"? Or, if he had walked out at any point before the boss had cornered him?

Why, he'd still be on Cinnabar.

But he'd be on Cinnabar, and other Pokemon would still be harvested, and well, they wouldn't have survived. He survived. His life—these very thoughts—were the result of a freak accident instigated by a decades-old rivalry. Luck. Chance. The same luck that saved him from being tossed aside a long time ago. So when an overpowered mouse had called, he had been able to answer.

Would he have done everything again? Absolutely.

/

"What do you mean, you 'can't get it started again'?" Giovanni sat up, swinging his legs off of an antique desk carved with decorative figures of Arcanine and Ninetales. "Fix it!"

The voice on the other end of the telephone came out garbled. Giovanni frowned and responded, "Yes, I know what the starter is. Find another starter. A Pidgey or something."

A long winded explanation met his ears. Giovanni hunched over. "The backups are gone too? And you're saying you can't make a new starter without power! Well, my electricity's working." His lips pressed together into a thin line. "More than what's already on the grid? Yes, the nuclear plants are really shut down." He sighed. "I see your dilemma."

He stood up to face a window with a tattered curtain. "Put together a team of top men to figure this out. Top men. Figure it out. Now."

Giovanni clicked the outdated phone off. The old Cinnabarian mansion, deserted for decades, smelled musty with a hint of smoke. Next to the window, a paw print—Mewtwo's—marked the wall. Giovanni sat back down in the plush executive chair, holding his trembling hands out. Persian rubbed against his legs, and Giovanni reached to scratch the white cat under its chin. "Riots could start any minute now, Persian. My. Head. Will. Roll."

A crashing thump interrupted his thoughts, and familiar voices followed.

"Prepare for trouble—"

Giovanni turned around. Jessie and James stood back-to-back, a cloud of dust and ash behind them. Mondo posed awkwardly beside them. "You two! And Mondo? And your Wobbuffet? How did you—"

Meowth walked forward with hesitating steps. "We came t'rough dat hole in da ceiling."

"And you!"

"In da flesh."

Giovanni laughed. "I have to say I'm surprised. You ran out of your nine lives a long time ago, Meowth."

"What can I say. Here I am." He coughed out the last word.

Giovanni glared, examining Meowth head-to-toe. "You've seen better days."

"No thanks to you." Jessie spat. She pulled out a pair of handcuffs, and the metal shone in the dim light.

James took the handcuffs from Jessie and grabbed Giovanni by the wrist. "We're overthrowing you." He paused. "Again."

With his free hand, Giovanni put his hand on a pistol attached to his belt. "Watch it."

"No…no, you watch it." Mondo aimed a pistol straight at Giovanni's head.

"Persian!"

Mondo looked at the Pokemon, who was ready to pounce. "You move, and I shoot."

"No Offers Jenny are around to arrest you, so we'll have to make do." James wrestled Giovanni's free hand downwards and secured his wrists in the cuffs.

Mewoth's brows furrowed as he stared Giovanni in the eye. "So what's da—"

Everyone's heads turned as the heavy, ornate door to Giovanni's hideout slammed open. Light poured into the room around a small silhouette.

" _Oh. The door's lighter than it looks."_ Pikachu entered, her steps slow but methodical. Lightbulbs brightened and then burned out as she passed them, one-by-one. Ash followed behind her.

At the sight of Meowth, her eyes widened, and her pace quickened. She bounded upon him in a hug.

"It's good ta see ya, too." His hair stood on end from static. He patted her back. "Why are ya here?'

She pulled away and narrowed her eyes. _"I found something out."_

"The twerps always interrupt us at our best moments." Jessie sighed and shrugged. "Do what you need to do, Pikachu."

She nodded. _"You knew what was in there. They all knew. And no one stopped it. No one thought of a better way."_

"I don't understand—" Giovanni yanked his cuffed hands away from James. "—a word she's saying."

Pikachu nodded at Meowth.

"She's sayin', 'You knew what was in dere. Dey all knew. No one t'ought of a better way.'" Meowth's head gave a slight tilt, and he turned back to Pikachu. "What was in where?"

" _You know how the bioenergy fuels infinity energy."_

"I know dat intimately well, Pikachu."

" _Do you—did you…was there anyone with you when you were in the machine?"_

"I believe Gary Oak was dere. He's da one who got me out, right?"

" _No, no. When you were in—_ " She emphasized the word. _"—the machine. Was there another Pokemon with you…another Pokemon's energy?"_

"I don't remember anyt'ing. I was blacked out."

" _Outside of Cerulean City, at the main facility…there was a…place…that transformed the bioenergy into electricity. It had, like, a bioenergy 'key.' And it was the energy of a Pokemon. And it had been there since—since infinity energy started. I could tell. It had been there for a long time. I don't think it was aware…but, it was in pain."_

A silence fell over the room.

Giovanni broke it. "I assume she's told you about the 'starter.' You don't understand—"

" _I think you're the one who doesn't understand."_ Pikachu climbed on the desk and inched closer to Giovanni. _"It could feel. And it was hurting. For years…decades, even. I don't even know what it was, just that it was another Pokemon. Alive. How could anything make that 'understandable'?"_

Meowth continued translating. His voice overlapped with hers.

"It was for the greater good. It always has been." Giovanni stood motionless, unblinking.

" _Greater good? For who? It was good for you. It gave Team Rocket lots of money. It gave you lots of power. But it wasn't good for everybody."_ Pikachu scratched her head. _"And it's not like there weren't any alternatives."_

"Infinity energy is the most efficient—"

James leaned in towards Jessie and gave a quick aside: "A little inefficiency isn't the worst thing in the world…we know that pretty well."

" _It was one where you could control the supply. The sun? Water? Wind? You can't control that. But you could steal Pokemon, and you could do it well."_

The door slammed open again.

" _Hey, this door is really light."_ Wartortle paused for a second, then nodded at Pikachu. _"Thought you could use some help."_ He stepped aside to reveal a mob—a familiar mob. It was a group from Rock Tunnel.

"Persian! Defend me!"

"Don't move, Persian." Mondo kept his gun pointed at Giovanni. Glowering at Mondo, Persian slinked away.

Giovanni muttered under his breath, "Worthless piece of…" He looked Pikachu in the eye. "So kill me. Get it over with."

A lightning bolt struck centimeters away from his hair. _"For everything, dying's too easy."_ Pikachu sighed and addressed James: _"Let him go."_

She turned her back to Giovanni. _"Just know that wherever you go, you're an enemy of Pokemon."_

Meowth repeated these words, and James let go of Giovanni's arms.

Giovanni ran towards the door, eyes widened and legs wobbling.

Pikachu closed her eyes and sat down on the floor.


	23. End of an Era

**AN: Apologies for the delay. Applying for jobs has taken over my life! You know what else has taken over my life? Pokemon Go. I hope you all are enjoying the new game!**

* * *

" _I mean, it's just weird. He died in the dirt. We pulled him back out, and now we're just putting him back in the dirt."_

" _Charizard."_ The Lickitung nudged him.

" _Yeah."_ Charizard pressed two claws together and twisted them towards his mouth, miming the motion of locking it shut.

Even though she felt more like a mascot, Pikachu knew she was considered as the de-facto leader of Pokemon, she was expected to officiate the memorial services Ash had arranged. There was one for the countless Pokemon turned into infinity energy. There was one for the dozens of Pokemon and the few humans who had fallen during the rebellion effort. And now, there was one for Venusaur.

She cringed at the thought. Venusaur got his own funeral, not that he would know any better. And she kicked herself for thinking it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that he died in the first place. And he died from a chain of events that she started. But so did a lot of the others. The Pidgey she saw, or a Caterpie she never knew…were they even named? Memorial services could only happen if there's a memory of the person. So what about those who nobody remembered?

Pikachu felt a hundred eyes on her, and she knew she was expected to speak.

Meowth walked up next to her. "I got da human side covered."

She nodded and took a deep breath, straining her voice so she could be heard. _"Venusaur…was a very good friend of mine."_

A Tangela placed a single flower on the mound of dirt. A grass-type tradition.

" _He was strong. He was the only Bulbasaur I knew who could dig. And his vines were like hands to him…but…"_ She trailed off for a moment. At funerals for Pokemon, she knew it was customary for mourners to share the deceased's skills in battle. But Venusaur was so much more than that. _"But that doesn't mean anything compared to how kind and loyal he is—was. I remember, one time, he let me and Ash ride on him all the way back to the Pokecenter when we were really tired at Victory Road. He never complained."_ She scratched the back of her head. How long was she supposed to talk? Would Venusaur like what she was saying?

Pikachu scanned the crowd and searched for the faces she knew. Ash's head hung, eyes downcast. Charizard was biting his lip. Psydu—no, Golduck—was sitting in the middle of his new admirers, eyes downcast. Wartortle was…Wartortle was not there. She sighed and looked again. The turtle was several yards away from all the others, sitting by himself at the edge of the field. His knees curled up towards his carapace.

" _I know I should talk more about how strong he was—"_ Someone in the crowd coughed. _"And he was strong. But what was more important was that he was always improving—always training, always trying to be better. That means so much more than natural strength."_

She hesitated, then continued. _"What makes some Pokemon more powerful than others?"_ Some mumbles spread across the Pokemon and humans. _"We hear trainers whisper about numbers—IVs—and we all know about levels and types and…"_

Her voice became stronger. _"We all know how strong Venusaur was. But are there limits? Is there a potential every Pokemon has, and that's it? I refuse to believe it."_

" _I know I was lucky when it came to those numbers we're not supposed to know about. And then I had a great trainer."_ She nodded at Ash. _"But can we judge a Pokemon for being unlucky? Or choosing not to train? Or even not having the chance to train in the first place? Being born a common type? When humans see us as nothing but battlers—things, tools—that's when, that's when something like infinity energy can happen."_

" _In the end, though, I guess none of that matters. Everyone's got a life, and everyone has the right to live that life."_

Meowth's voice had grown quieter, then stopped. Her last sentence remained untranslated for the humans who couldn't understand. There was an uncomfortable silence that felt heavy and thick. _"Uh, Meowth, can you get that last bit too?"_

He was staring off into the distance, paws clenched into fists, knuckles white. He snapped to attention at the mention of his name: "Sorry, I got, uh, distracted." He shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts and said, "But in the end, all dat doesn't matter. Everyone has a life, and everyone has a right ta live it."

Pikachu closed her eyes after hearing her words echoed in the human language. The silence now felt right.

/

Night had fallen, and Rock Tunnel held a small reception in Venusaur's honor. Steelix had made a special rock-table for the occasion, and some berries were meticulously arranged on it. Pokemon milled about, some crying, others holding out paws or fins or claws in comforting gestures. The humans were quiet and hugged the walls.

Meowth was with the humans, slumped over, reeking of a human liquor that probably had the same appeal as coffee. He muttered at Brock: "So da big guy gets killed and not me. Wish it coulda been me. He was nice…" He slurred his words.

Jessie and James watched their partner from a safe distance. "Should we stop him?"

"Yeah."

Pikachu watched as the two humans gently cajoled the cat into going to bed.

Wartortle waddled towards her, stumbling once. He smelled like the drink too. _"You made it about yourself, Pikachu."_

She winced. _"Wartortle, I—"_

" _I was his best friend. I should've given the speech."_

Pikachu shrank back. _"Wartortle, I know—"_

His voice cracked, and his face softened. _"I—No I know. I didn't mean that. I'm just—he—I'm going out."_

Wartortle shuffled away.

"He's taking it hard." Arms crossed across her chest, Misty looked down at Pikachu and frowned. "He'll come back around eventually."

/

Wartortle smelled smoke as soon as he was out of the cave. He followed the scent to Lavender town—which was in flames. A mob of humans were rioting, throwing rocks through windows. A few set tires on fire and wheeled them down the main road.

" _Hey! You! Yeah, you! Go back to the forest!"_

" _What? Me?"_ Wartortle pointed to himself, not knowing who was talking to him.

A Nidorina poked her head out of a nearby shrub. _"The humans have gone nuts. Get out of here."_

" _I can tell."_ He sent a bubble beam towards an incoming burning tire, extinguishing the flames. _"What happened?"_

" _All their lights went out."_

And it was true. Lavender City was dark. No streetlights, no lights in shining through windows.


	24. Promises

**A/N: Sorry for such a long delay! Life got crazy. Only one chapter left. :) Thanks for sticking with this story!**

* * *

Pikachu saw a blue blur bound about an outcropping of rock in the cav. Wartortle had come back just as the funeral reception was winding down. She approached him as he was panting.

She reached out to place a paw on his shoulder; he shrugged to avoid it. _"No, I'm not ready to talk it out, Pikachu…it's just…outside…Lavender Town…there's—_ "

Charizard bounded towards them, shaking the floor with each step. _"—Wartortle! Don't run out like that. Dude?"_ He raised his eyebrows. _"You okay? That was fast. Thought it'd take you a few hours to get it together."_

" _There's—_ "

"—Everything okay, Wartortle?" Brock crouched down to the Pokemon's eye level.

Wartortle threw up his hands. _"—I would be if you'd let me get a word in edgewise!"_

Brock backed off. "What's going on?"

The turtle sighed and addressed Pikachu. _"Lavender Town's burning. The humans are rioting."_ He shrugged and scratched the back of his head. _"The whole city's in a blackout."_

Pikachu glanced up at the construction lights that dotted the cave. _"But we have power."_

"If you're talking about our power source, we have a generator." Brock pointed to an alcove in the rear. Wires spread out from in a web.

" _I guess I have to calm them down, huh…"_ Pikachu sighed as she eyed some leftover snacks from the reception. _"I'll get Ash and Meowth. Brock, can you join us too? And—Wartortle, are you up for this?"_

" _Yeah, better than thinking about Venusaur right now."_

Pikachu didn't know what to say. She wanted to cry. She wanted yell at him, and she wanted to hug him. She wanted to run away. Pawing her face, she hesitated. _"I'm sorry."_

/

It had only taken a few shocks to wake Ash up. Meowth was still somewhat drunk: he teetered on his unnatural gait, visibly concentrating so he could walk on two legs.

" _You can still go back to Rock Tunnel if you want…"_

Meowth slapped his face lightly. "Nah, I'm okay, Pikachu. It's clearin' up. I had coffee." He yawned. "Besides, you needs a translator, and last I checked, dere isn't anybody else..."

His voice trailed off as he saw the fires engulfing Lavender Town. The windows on the PokeMart were shattered, and the entrance to the PokeCenter was boarded up and coated in graffiti. The streets smelled acrid, like burning rubber—it stung the eyes. A man yelled, and another whooped in response.

"Woah." Ash craned his neck upwards to view the top of Pokemon Tower, which had been set aflame. Smoke poured out of the building. "The graves…"

Brock crossed his arms against his chest. "Animals. All of them."

"Us," Ash corrected. "Man…what gives?" He knelt down in front of the memorial, drumming his fingers into the ground.

"Well, we have to stop it," Brock offered.

Ash stood back up. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Um, first things first. Wartortle, can you send a bubble beam into the Tower?"

" _I can hydro pump it."_ Wartortle moved his legs into a fighting stance.

"Too powerful. You'll knock it down."

" _Understood."_ He spewed a barrage of happy-looking bubbles. They squeaked against each other in a high-pitch stream.

Pikachu could have sworn that the low-level attack sounded like a Marowak's cry when it hit the fire.

The flames flickered and weakened at being doused. After only a few more seconds, the ruins of Pokemon Tower were left, blackened and smoldering. The edifice creaked with new instability.

"So, where do we find this mob, Wartortle?"

A rumble answered Ash.

"Looks like dey founds us." Meowth stood before the angry crowd, his jaw dropping.

Pikachu walked past him, and she extended an arm to shield him. _"What…is going on?"_

There was a confused pause, and, rolling his eyes, Meowth stood on his toes so his mouth rose so it could be seen above her paw, "We wanna know what's going on?"

A woman cried out, "We can't live like this! You call the police, oh, there's no police! You call city hall, oh, there's no government anymore! What do we do!"

Ash shrugged. "Our generator's working great. Do you guys—don't you have a generator?"

An older man pushed people aside as he made his way towards Ash. He rolled his eyes as he muttered, "Do we have a generator?"

"Well, do you?"

"Of course we have a generator! And how do you think we recharge its fuel cell? The grid! The grid is freakin' down!" He sighed. "So no power. For days. We're back in the stone ages here. But you—oh no, your generator's working great!"

Brock countered, "Well, we don't recharge the fuel cell on the grid."

"And you recharge it how?"

Brock squinted and pinched the bridge of his nose. "…We have an electric…type…charge it."

"Oh! Well look at you, with your fancy electric-types! This here's a ghost-town! Do you see electric types milling about, no."

Ash offered, "I'm sure you could find an—"

"—Even if we did find one, they wouldn't want to help us! Considering it turns out we've been turning their little buddies into energy this whole time."

Pikachu and Meowth stood with their mouths ajar.

Ash finally raised his voice. "You didn't know! We didn't know! You think this is Pokemon against humans?"

"Of course it is! What else could it be, 'master trainer'? If Pokemon had been grinding up humans, we'd wipe 'em out! It's only a matter of time before they, before they—"

" _What do you need help with."_ Pikachu's voice was flat but firm. She walked towards the man—she was knee-height compared to him.

The man stumbled backwards, falling back towards the crowd and flinching. He curled on the ground. "Don't hurt us," he begged. "We'll—we'll fight back." A few torches waved in agreement.

Meowth cleared his throat. "She's, uh, she's asking you whaddya need help wif." The man didn't budge, so Meowth approached him, poking his arm that was raised to guard his head in self-defense. "What can we do ta help?"

"You're…she's…she's not gonna kill us, like she killed Giovanni?"

" _I didn't kill Giovanni!"_

Meowth sat on the ground next to the shaken man. "No, she's not killin' anybody. And she didn't kill Giovanni. Kinda wish she did, but—"

"The hospital."

" _What?"_ Wartortle crossed his arms. _"Did you set that on fire, too?"_

The man shook his head. "It needs power."

" _If I recharge the battery, do you promise to stop…rioting?"_ Pikachu gestured at her tail.

"She'll recharge da battery if you all stop riotin'."

The man shrugged as he spoke to Meowth. "I mean, I can't promise." Someone in the distance threw a Molotov cocktail towards the PokeMart. "See? But I'm sure it would…help."

Pikachu groaned and ran her paws over her ears. _"This isn't going to be a regular thing, you know."_

"Dis is a one-time deal, got it? We can't be runnin' around rechargin' everyt'ing all da time."

"Don't worry; I get it." He turned around and addressed the mob. "Calm down! They're going to help!"

"Yeah right," another woman booed.

"Go home, Martha!" He raised his fist.

"When you get a job, Tim!"

The man—Tim—rolled his eyes. "This way."

Broken glass littered the ground as they approached the building. The hospital was an old brick building, and a few spots of light reflected from candlesticks dotted what remained of the windows.

"Didn't even know Lavender Town had a hospital."

"Did you think humans go to Pokemon Centers too?"

"Kinda. It's not on the map, anyway."

Brock whispered to himself in disbelief. "Sometimes I wonder if you're actually a Pokemon."

They entered the building, Tim and Brock leading the way. The hospital was mostly empty, save for a few medical personnel running from place to place in darkened halls.

"The elevators aren't working, so—" Time opened a door, revealing a pitch-black staircase. "ICU's on the 9th floor."

" _Use flash."_ Wartortle pushed Meowth forward.

Meowth shook his head and scowled. "In all dose years…have you ever known me to use a move o'da dan scratch?"

" _Always thought you knew an HM at least. Are you even a Pokemon."_ Wartortle stated, rather than asked, the last sentence, in a low voice.

Paws raised in the air, Meowth took in a deep breath and spat. "Well I guess it's questionable after da whole Missing No.—"

Wartortle stepped back. _"I'm sorry; I didn't mean, I just—"_

"I'm going to stop you both right there." Brock dug around in one of his vest's pockets. "A flashlight." He shook it. "Mechanically powered. Problem solved."

The group started climbing the stairs, Meowth trailing behind. The door to the ninth floor creaked open, and Pikachu felt a twinge of dread—or static—rise in her fur. There were human lives here, normal ones, but then there were also traces of heartbeats. Weak ones.

A slight movement caught her eye. A nurse, staring off into space, was methodically squeezing a pump. That pump was connected to a plastic tube, which trailed into a human's mouth. Breathing.

" _Where's this floor's generator?"_

Tim pointed to a supply closet.

" _I'll recharge it. No problem."_

Ash opened the door for her—the knob was too high up—and Pikachu spotted the device, which was the same as the one they had back at Rock Tunnel. It took a spark, nothing more than a breath to Pikachu, and it was charged for two weeks. In less than a second, with less than a thought.

" _Hey. I'm done."_

"We noticed." Ash took in the now-lit room. Machines were beeping and pumping and whirring, and the nurse was smiling.

"Thanks." Tim looked at the patient lying in the small ICU's sole bed. "I guess you can go know. This means a lot…"

"We'll—we'll come up with something," Ash offered. "I promise."

" _Um. Bye."_ Wartortle reached up and pressed the button for the elevator. _"Yeah. Machines are nice. Can't argue with that."_

The elevator arrived, and Ash, Brock, Pikachu, and Meowth packed in behind Wartortle. They rode down in silence, with Brock inspecting the posted directory. The elevator chimed—such a foreign noise now—and they headed back.

" _Ash."_ Pikachu sped up to match his pace.

"Yeah."

" _You made a promise."_

"Yeah."

" _What can we do for them? As much as I'd like to, it's not realistic for me to keep—_ "

"When I promised that, I meant we'd find another way."

" _Hmm."_

They walked further in the cold, all tired.

" _Never realized humans needed electricity so much."_ She turned back around to look at the hospital as it shrank in the distance. _"To live. Sometimes."_

"Humans rely on a lotta t'ings, _Pikachu_."

" _You—you just said my name in Pokemon!"_

"Did n—" He cut himself off and gasped as he felt remnants of the other language in his mouth. "I did? I really did. Huh. Sorry. I'm real tired."

" _Why are you apologizing?"_

/

Pikachu woke up to an argument echoing through the cave. She had been the first to fall asleep when they returned to Rock Tunnel, and now, looking around, it appeared she was the last to rise.

" _We could all use the money!"_

" _How do you think the economy is doing after—I don't know—a global blackout!?"_

" _If we do this, then that wouldn't be a problem!"_

"Cut it out, you guys!" Misty's voice rang through.

" _I'm just saying, I want money. It'd be awesome,"_ Charizard huffed.

Wartortle groaned. " _There's no getting through to you."_

"Charizard has a point." Jame's voice echoed now.

Pikachu shuffled into the main area, rubbing her eyes.

" _We woke Pikachu up."_

" _Don't worry about it, Wartortle. What's going on?"_

Jessie answered. "Ash said he made a promise. So now we're talking about the science of economics. Go figure."

"Economics is not a science!" James blurted out.

"It's a social science," Jessie shot back.

"That's what I'm saying!" James shrugged.

Brock offered Pikachu a brief explanation. "We're just trying to figure out how humans can have electricity and Pokemon can be free to do whatever they want."

" _Capitalism!"_

Misty raised her hands. "Charizard, you learned that word like five minutes ago. And I think it's what started infinity energy in the first place."

"Correction: state capitalism started infinity energy."

"How do you even know this, James!"

"Spent a lot of time locked in the mansion's library as a kid."

"Of course." Jessie sighed.

"What I'm trying to say is, Charizard has a point."

Ash gave Charizard a thumbs-up.

Meowth spoke up. "Go on, James."

James continued. "Money might not be the answer—trust me, it usually never is—but Pokemon have the power to solve this problem, but Pokemon can't do this at the loss of their health—or freedom. So Wartortle's also right, in that using existing currency is impossible at this point, and that creating a new currency would eventually leave us back where we started." He paused. "So Pokemon need something in exchange for solving the energy crisis, but money probably isn't it."

"Thanks for thinking about this, James." Ash gave a sheepish grin. "I didn't really think about how big this would be."

Pikachu scratched her head. _"So I guess we should be asking what Pokemon want."_

"Some respect would be nice." Meowth laughed.

A brief moment passed before Pikachu spoke again. _"What about…a voice?"_ She looked to Ash for approval.

" _You're saying we should all learn to speak human like that weirdo?"_ Charizard shook his head.

" _No, no. Like, if we were heard. If we could decide things for ourselves."_

WHADDYA WANNA DO, BUILD A CITY?- Meowth


	25. Moonrises

SIX MONTHS LATER

/

" _I can't believe we're building a city!"_ Pikachu, giddy, hopped up and down, in awe of a building taking form.

Wartortle pushed up his sunglasses and chuckled. _"You weren't as excited when it a bunch of the shingles fell off yesterday."_

" _Yeah. But you guys fixed it!"_

" _Got my best crew on it—"_ Wartortle stepped forward and yelled towards a Blastoise that was encasing a brick in ice. _"Ey! Ey! Ey! Blaistoise! No ice beams! That's cheating. It'll just melt."_

" _Heh, I can see…your hands are full."_ Pikachu waved. _"Catch up with you later?_

" _Blastoise! What did I just say?"_ Wartortle shook his head, then turned to Pikachu. _"Yeah. Got to keep an eye on them. See you, 'Mayor'."_ He gave a slight salute.

" _I'm not the mayor!"_

" _Not yet."_ Wartortle pulled down his sunglasses to wink.

Pikachu rolled her eyes and started to climb the hill that overlooked the center of town. Alakazam was there, meditating.

" _Hey."_

There was no answer from the psychic-type. Pikachu sat down a short distance from him. The place had been coming together quickly—the idea of having a Pokemon-run city was popular with the Pokemon who had fought alongside Pikachu and the Pokemon who were involved in efforts in other cities, other regions.

Brock and Misty had settled on the location after a long debate: the ruins of what, a year ago, had been Viridian City. Golduck destroyed the remnants of Giovanni's old gym, and, after two hours of staring at a map, had come up with the new town's name : Prism Town.

There was a light breeze in the summer air, carrying the scent of honeysuckle, and Pikachu watched the grass ripple in waves. No wonder Alakazam liked to meditate here.

"It's nice, isn't it. Can you see down there? A Smeargle's painting a mural, and Venusaur's on it." Ash came into view as he walked up the hill.

" _That is nice."_

"I, uh, I'm glad I found you here. This is really last minute, but I'm gonna go on a trip for a little bit, and I just wanted to see you before I go." Ash stood awkwardly, hands in his pockets.

" _A trip?"_ Pikachu raised a brow in confusion. _"Where are you going? There's so much to do still."_

"It's not forever…" Ash trailed off. With a blink, he smiled. "Are you hungry? It's lunch time. We could talk about it over some noodles?"

Pikachu stretched. _"Sure. Hah, you know I love that place."_

That place was a restaurant Jessie and James had opened near the town's center. Along the way, she and Ash passed a Pokemon-run Pokemon Center, with Wigglytuff, Chansey, and the odd Blissey unpacking supplies, a PokeMart run by two Kecleon who had traveled a very long way to set up shop, and a park any grass-type would love, featuring a fountain surrounded by saplings.

A glitzy, too-large sign announced the establishment as "Trouble." A large neon sign next to it blinked, "And make it double." A smaller neon sign glowed beneath that one, flickering lightly: "Portions. Double portions."

Ash squinted at the laminated menu propped up in the window. There was an alternate menu next to it, in Meowth's writing system. Pikachu traced the words with her paw, mouthing the sounds.

Jessie opened the door with a jingle. She wore a pristine white apron emblazoned with a big red "RAMEN," with the R emphasized and several sizes larger than the rest of the letters. "Are you going to stand outside all day?"

Ash glanced at the apron. "You're still going with the Team Rocket theme?"

"We used to work for a crime organization-slash-world conspiracy. It's hilarious." Jessie crossed her arms. "So what'll it be?"

Pikachu slid into a vinyl booth. _"Number 8, with ketchup."_

"In your ramen?"

" _Yes."_

"Really?"

"Customer's always right." Ash grinned. "I'll have the usual."

"Got it." She called out as she headed back to kitchen. "James, we got a beefaroni with the sweet sauce and a kitchen sink!"

James's muffled voice gave an affirmative.

" _So what's going on with the trip?"_

Ash's face turned bright red. "Gary sent another letter. Actually, a bunch. But there's one I wanted to read to you." He pulled out a carefully folded letter and cleared his throat. "Uh…it's this one. 'Ashy boy. I guess there's no need to be in hiding any more. Would you like to come to the Orange Islands? There's a Lapras waiting for you. And Mewtwo, who has been following me around. In exchange for a place to stay, he's letting me study his genetics. There's some interesting findings, but I don't know what to make of them yet. Anyway, it's been a long time since I've seen you, and you seem to have a knack for understanding legendaries, so would you like to visit?'" Ash folded the letter back up. "He goes on a bit about how everyone's talking about Prism City—even all the way over there—and then some other stuff. But the main thing is Mewtwo probably just needs someone to talk to, who, you know, gets the whole legendary angst thing. I was going to ask you if you'd like to come, but I get that you're needed here. Let's face it, Pikachu, there's not much I can do to help at this point. Human meddling and stuff."

Pikachu slid down in her seat. _"Yeah. And if I went with you, I'd just worry about what's going on here the whole time. It'd be fun, though."_ She balanced a fork on her paw. _"But you're needed here too. Maybe not as much right now, but remember how much you did in the beginning? That whole park wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you."_

"I guess you're right." He chuckled, "Can't help it that I'm useless at politics. And when I'm away, I'll send postcards! And I'll call as often as I can."

Jessie slammed the door to the kitchen open. "Food's here!"

Ash looked back into the kitchen, which was spotless, empty save for James. "Where's Meowth? Doesn't he like cutting the noodles?"

Plopping the bowls of ramen down—some broth splashed on the table—Jessie sighed. "Something with paperwork."

" _Crap."_

Looking at Pikachu's fallen face, Ash asked, "What?"

" _I completely forgot about the meeting!"_ Pikachu hopped off the bench, then reconsidered. She eyed her bowl, picked it up with both paws, and slurped down a significant portion. Then she nodded at Ash. " _I'll see you later!"_

"I'm leaving this afternoon!"

" _Have fun!"_

Pikachu ran out the door, leaving bells and chimes jingling after she had left.

Ash drummed his fingers on the table. "I'll pay for her, Jessie."

"It's always on the house for you guys."

/

A bunch of young Rattata surrounded Meowth, who was leaning against a tree in the park.

" _Do it again! Do it again!"_

" _It's so weird! So creepy!"_

"I'm tellin' ya, I'm not weird." He groaned. "Okay, I've heard I am a little weird, but dis isn't why. I don't get why you t'ink dis is so interesting. One more time, and dat's it."

One of the Rattata picked up a Pokedex in its mouth and clumsily pressed a button.

"MISSING NO. MISSING NO. MISSING NO.—"

" _You're going to break it!"_

"—MISSING NO. MISSING NO.— "

Pikachu approached, putting her paw up in greeting. _"Sorry I'm late."_

"It's not a problem. As you can see, I've been occupied." Meowth gestured to the Rattata. "Okay kids, time to scram."

One of the Rattata scrambled to power down the PokeDex. _"Byeeee!"_ They ran off, giggling.

"Ugh." Meowth shook his head. "So. We gots letters from all over. All good t'ings. Lavender Town—dey've been doin' well by barterin' wit Pokemon for deir utilities. Figured out somet'in' wit Ghastly and phasin' t'rough walls to build up a charge on generators. But it's workin' well all over. Any Pokemin wit HM01 can mow a lawn for a bunch a snacks; it's great. Now dat more know how to write, dey can tell people what dey want in exchange for a favor."

" _Sounds good. Construction for the city is almost done, so we'll be officially on the map soon."_ She leaned back. _"You want to go over plans for the ribbon cutting ceremony?"_

"Hmm…I mean, you'll be doin' most of da talkin', I'm just translatin'." He sat up on the park bench, swinging his legs. "And you're writing it, too. You picked up on da new system real fast."

" _The shapes are kind of pretty. I like it."_

"Your nice handwriting helps, heh."

She stared at the fountain for a moment. It was stonework, carved by hydro pumps and smoothed by fire blasts. A statue of a Gyarados, flanked by two Magikarp, spat water in graceful arcs. _"How have you been feeling?"_

"Fine."

" _Really."_

Meowth hesitated, then rubbed his eye. "I dunno, Pikachu. No matter what I tell some Rattata, I'm not the same. Not really." He stretched. "Tired all da time. Don't know if I'm even me, you know?"

" _I can tell you're still tired. It's…"_ She inched closer. _"It's in your heart and brain, I feel it but—_ " She examined Meowth's face. _"—But it's still you! Everyone's currents are unique, and yours are…unmistakably yours."_

"Heh." A few minutes passed as Meowth closed his eyes, smiling, ears twitching to the sound of fountain.

Pikachu noticed a pale daytime moon. She relaxed, meditating on its barely visible outline, until Meowth's voice redirected her attention.

"Do ya really t'ink dat Prism City…dat we're really goin' ta change da world?"

" _Sure. We got this far. And we've already changed the world."_ Her tail bobbed up and down. _"I mean, it's still not ideal. We rely on humans for a bunch of our supplies."_

"Correction: it's a balance. Dey rely on us, too."

" _I guess they do."_ Feeling a surge of her own electricity, she put her paw on his.

* * *

 **A/N: And, that's it! Thank you for reading all the way through. I had a lot of fun writing this, and I hope you enjoyed it. If you liked it, please consider sharing it by recommending it to your friends...or the Internet! If you didn't like it, I'm always up for concrit. Anyway, thank you for your reviews, favorites, follows, and comments. They mean a lot to me! :)**


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